FILE PHOTO: 2022 Beijing Olympics - Victory Ceremony - Freestyle Skiing - Women's Aerials - Zhangjiakou Medals Plaza, Zhangjiakou, China - February 15, 2022. Silver medallist Hanna Huskova of Belarus celebrates on the podium. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
Dec 10 (Reuters) - Nine Russian and Belarusian athletes were granted Individual Neutral Athletes status by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation on Wednesday, enabling them to feature in qualifying events for next year's Milano Cortina Olympics.
Belarusian freestyle skiing aerialist Hanna Huskova, who won gold at Pyeongchang 2018 and silver at Beijing 2022, headlines the initial list alongside Russia's Anastasia Tatalina, who took gold in the women's ski big air at the 2021 World Championships.
Also included on the AIN list are Belarusian athletes Anastasiya Andryianava, Anna Derugo, Ihar Drabiankou, Maria Shkanova and Uladzislau Vazniuk, as well as Russians Savelii Korostelev and Dariya Nepryaeva.
"Over the course of the upcoming days and weeks, as more eligibility reviews are conducted and more decisions are made, FIS will publish updated versions of the AIN list," the sport's governing body said in a statement.
On December 2, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to participate in FIS qualification events if they meet the International Olympic Committee's AIN criteria.
The FIS council had voted not to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate as neutral athletes in its qualifying events for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
The Russian Ski Association and the Belarusian Ski Union appealed to CAS against the decision, along with 17 athletes from both countries.
CAS partially upheld the appeals.
The Milano Cortina Olympics will run from February 6-22.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
