FILE - A view of the Assago Forum which will be the Milano Ice Skating Arena where figure skating and short track speed skating disciplines will take place at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, in Assago, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Three figure skaters from Russia and Belarus, including an Olympic gold medal prospect, were approved Thursday by the IOC to compete as neutrals at the Milan Cortina Winter Games in February.

They include 18-year-old Adeliia Petrosian, who showed medal potential in the women’s singles event when winning an Olympic qualifying event in Beijing in September.

Petr Gumennik, the Russian singles champion, won the men’s event in Bejing two months ago and Viktoriia Safonova of Belarus was fourth behind Petrosian. They also got approved neutral status, the International Olympic Committee said.

The Beijing qualifying event was the first time Russians were allowed by the International Skating Union to compete at one of its figure skating events since the full military invasion of Ukraine started in 2022 — just four days after the end of the Beijing Olympics

The IOC is doing its own vetting to approve Russian and Belarusian athletes for neutral status to compete at Milan Cortina, as it did before the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

To be eligible, individual athletes must not have actively supported the invasion of Ukraine nor have ties to Russian or Belarusian military and state security agencies.

The figure skaters must also accept their individual invitation and sign a commitment to respect the Olympic Charter, the IOC said.

Petrosian is the latest star skater trained by coach Eteri Tutberidze, who was a controversial personality at the Beijing Olympics.

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