There are athletes with Russian and Belarussian passports competing at the Olympics as "Individual Neutral Athletes," if they meet some conditions.

Thirteen athletes from Russia will compete in Italy, but they will do so without flags, anthems or a place in the medal standings.

A Winter Olympian has been banned from wearing an anti-Russia helmet with images of Ukraine war victims. Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was told by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) he could not compete wearing the controversial helmet.

BBC Sport finds evidence raising questions over the neutral eligibility of four Russian athletes.

Every time Nikita Filippov races, it's an uphill struggle. At the Olympics, even more so. The 23-year-old from Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula is a medal contender in the rugged new Olympic sport of ski mountaineering.

THE IOC have “begged” Vladyslav Heraskevych not to wear his ‘helmet of memory’ in skeleton competition – otherwise he could be booted out of the Olympics. Heraskevych, the Ukrainian flag bearer at

Of course while Russia remain excluded, they will continue to take the high road, albeit with a fairly transparent sideways glance. The Olympics have “lost their significance as a global competition for the best and strongest” according to Russian politician Vitaly Milonov last month, without a hint of irony.

Some Russians have dismissed the Games over the continued exclusion of their athletes. But the truth is international sport is still important to Moscow