An athlete who was barred from representing her nation on the Winter Olympics is now competing below a brand new flag.
Darya Dolidovich has joined a refugee staff after fleeing her nation (Picture: Getty Pictures) This text accommodates affiliate hyperlinks, we are going to obtain a fee on any gross sales we generate from it. Study extra
A skier who was pressured to flee her homeland due to her household’s political opinions has made historical past by competing for a refugee staff. Belarusian biathlete Darya Dolidovich was prevented by her personal nation from competing on the Winter Olympics in Beijing 4 years in the past earlier than searching for sanctuary in Poland.
Dolidovich, simply 17 on the time, and her household feared persecution after her father, Sergei, participated in demonstrations towards the re-election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Critics of Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Russian chief Vladimir Putin, alleged the election was manipulated. Sergei mentioned on the time: “Darya has been stripped of her proper to participate in competitions. I do not see the opportunity of her persevering with her profession in Belarus.
“We might be accused of staging an indication and shouting [opposition] slogans, then simply be despatched to jail. Three months in the past, I could not have imagined, even in a nightmare, that I might find yourself leaving my nation.”
After relocating to Poland, Darya has managed to restart her promising profession in biathlon, a self-discipline that merges cross-country snowboarding with rifle capturing. Now 21, she lately grew to become the primary biathlete in historical past to compete for the Biathlon Refugee Group (BRT), fashioned in 2024 to help athletes unable to compete for his or her house nations owing to battle or concern of political persecution.
She made her first look for the staff at a Biathlon World Cup spherical in Oberhof, Germany final month. Amid a big group of opponents, Darya secured 68th place within the ladies’s 7.5km dash occasion, demonstrating spectacular capturing abilities by lacking solely two out of the ten targets.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, restrictions have been imposed on Russian and Belarusian athletes. They’ve been permitted to take part within the 2026 Winter Olympics in northern Italy, however solely below stringent situations as Particular person Impartial Athletes (AIN).
Rivals should not allowed to characterize the Russian or Belarusian flags, nor are their nationwide anthems performed. As a substitute, they utilise a teal flag with a round AIN emblem and a specifically commissioned instrumental anthem.
To realize clearance from the IOC, athletes should exhibit that they haven’t publicly endorsed the invasion of Ukraine and haven’t any ties with the Russian or Belarusian navy or nationwide safety businesses.
At simply 21, Dolidovich has ample time to make an influence within the sport (Picture: Getty)
Participation is restricted to particular person occasions. This implies Russian and Belarusian groups are totally excluded from staff sports activities equivalent to ice hockey and curling.
For the 2026 Winter Video games, solely 20 athletes (13 Russians and 7 Belarusians) fulfilled the qualification and neutrality requirements to compete throughout sports activities like determine skating and freestyle snowboarding.
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Dolidovich did not make the minimize. Nevertheless, contemplating her relative youth, she’s going to undoubtedly aspire to fulfil her Olympic dream sooner or later, probably on the 2030 Winter Video games within the French Alps.
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