Two Russian athletes confirmed as flagbearers despite seven-nation Paralympic boycott
Despite protests from seven nations that will boycott the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, two Russian athletes have been confirmed as flagbearers – but who are they?
On Friday (6 March), athletes and officials from around the globe will attend the 2026 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony in northern Italy.
Notably, for the first time since Sochi 2014, the Russian flag will be flown at an Olympic/Paralympic event.
Russian athletes had been suspended from competing under their nation’s flag in subsequent Games due to state-sponsored doping, before the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine led to the nation being suspended by several global sporting bodies – including the IOC, UEFA and FIFA.
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However, due to a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), six Russian athletes will compete at the 2026 Winter Games.
Meanwhile, four Belarusians will also take part after Belarus was similarly suspended from competition due to its support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding, sports which are not governed by the IPC.
The individual governing bodies for the sports, including the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), have not lifted their bans.
However, Russia and Belarus are able to compete after winning an appeal at CAS against FIS’s stance in winter 2025.
The Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine have confirmed that they will not attend the opening ceremony due to the decision.
The UK government will also not send officials to the event.
A UK government spokesperson said: “Russian and Belarusian states should not be represented in international sport while the barbaric full-scale invasion of Ukraine is ongoing. Therefore, no Government Ministers or officials will attend the Opening or Closing Ceremonies of the Paralympics.”
Despite the protests, Russian para cross-country skier Anastaiia Bagiian and para-alpine skier Aleksei Bugaev have been selected as flag bearers.
Twenty-four-year-old Bagiian has a visual impairment and will be guided by Sergei Siniakin during the competition. She will take part in the Women’s 10km Interval Start Classic (Vision Impaired), Women’s 20km Interval Start Free (Vision Impaired) and Women’s Sprint Classic (Vision Impaired).
Twenty-eight-year-old seven-time Paralympic medallist and six-time world champion Bugaev was born with four fingers and the top of his right thumb missing. He competes in the LW6/8-2 classification for athletes with an impairment in one arm.
Despite the athletes being named as flag bearers, the National Paralympic Committees have agreed that volunteers will carry each nation’s flag, as not all flag bearers are able to attend the opening ceremony.
According to the IPC’s official website: “Although each NPC has announced flagbearers, it was agreed with competing NPCs in August 2025 that volunteers will carry each nation’s flag during the Opening Ceremony in Verona as not all flagbearers are able to attend.
“All NPC flagbearers will feature in short films which will be played out during the Athlete Parade of the Opening Ceremony.”
The Games will run from 6-15 March.
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Paralympics
Luke Davies