Cross Country Skiing
NRK reveals FIS leaders’ letter seeking support to re‑admit Russian and Belarusian skiers
October 17, 2025 / Yle
Norwegian broadcaster NRK obtained a confidential letter from FIS leaders—president Johan Eliasch, secretary general Michel Vion and CEO Urs Lehmann—aiming to secure member support to bring Russian and Belarusian athletes back to competitions this winter under neutral status. Norway’s ski federation and Finland’s ski federation oppose the move, with Finnish chair Sirpa Korkatti saying Russians will not be allowed at the Ruka World Cup opener due to entry bans. FIS’s council will decide on October 21; athletes linked to the military or who supported the war would remain excluded, and team events would still be off‑limits.
Winter sports: The letter that could decide if Russian athletes may compete again
October 17, 2025 / SVT Sport
FIS has sent a letter and survey to national federations ahead of a Tuesday board meeting that will decide whether Russian and Belarusian athletes can return under neutral status. Sweden’s ski federation says it maintains its stance that Russians and Belarusians should remain barred from international competitions. The article notes IOC pressure on FIS to admit neutrals and highlights neutrality criteria that could exclude stars like Aleksandr Bolshunov due to military ties and public support for the war.
Worlds organizing board reported to police after financial collapse
October 17, 2025 / Sveriges Radio – Radiosporten
After the financial collapse surrounding last season’s Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, the championship’s board has now been reported to the police. Earlier this year Norway’s Financial Supervisory Authority concluded that laws had been broken but refrained from sanctions, citing lack of intent and ignorance. The new police report is filed by the grassroots association Skigrasrota, which wants the case to be investigated criminally as well.
Severe birthday accident: France’s Flora Dolci out for the season
October 15, 2025 / krone.at
French cross-country skier Flora Dolci suffered a lumbar vertebra fracture in a paragliding accident on her 26th birthday, ending her Olympic-season campaign. Team doctor Thibault Barbe said she avoided permanent damage and can walk, but a full return to peak performance is expected to take around six months. Dolci was France’s top woman in last season’s World Cup standings and placed in the top 10 of the 50 km freestyle at the Trondheim World Championships.
Olympic season over: Cross-country skier Flora Dolci suffers spinal fracture in paragliding accident
October 14, 2025 / SPORT1
France’s Flora Dolci, ninth in the 50 km freestyle at the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim, sustained a lumbar vertebra fracture in a paragliding accident on her 26th birthday. Team doctor Thibault Barbe said there was risk of neurological damage, but after surgery in Grenoble she can walk and is expected to need about six months to return to full capacity, ruling her out of the 2025–26 Olympic winter. Dolci was France’s top woman in last season’s World Cup standings and posted a career‑best sixth in the Engadin 20 km freestyle.
Ari Luusua on possible comeback after doping ban ends in January 2026: “I’m a working family man”
October 13, 2025 / Yle
Finnish skier Ari Luusua, 37, says he has contacted the Finnish Ski Association about the details of a potential return once his sanction ends on 3 January 2026. His ban, stemming from a 2021 positive test for drostanolone and meldonium while competing in long‑distance Ski Classics, was extended due to his earlier retirement notification. Luusua, a former national team sprinter who later raced Ski Classics, declined to commit to a comeback, emphasizing his family and work life, while the Ski Association confirmed his FIS code can be reactivated from the ban’s end date.
Flora Dolci undergoes surgery for fractured vertebra, out of Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics
October 13, 2025 / L'Équipe
French cross-country skier Flora Dolci suffered a paragliding accident on her 26th birthday, resulting in a lumbar vertebra fracture that required surgery in Grenoble. Team doctors say she is walking and could recover full capacity in about six months, but she will miss the entire season and the 2026 Winter Olympics. The French team continues preparations with camps in Prémanon and Bessans ahead of the World Cup opener in Ruka on November 28.
Hanna Falk questions Ski Classics’ new sprint-for-points: “Doubtful – it becomes a different sport”
October 12, 2025 / Sveriges Radio – Radiosporten
Swedish cross-country expert Hanna Falk criticizes Ski Classics’ plan to add a sprint race that awards points in the long-distance series. She argues the tour already has a strong endurance-based identity and that adding a sprint for marketing reasons changes the nature of the competition. Falk likens it to making middle-distance runner Andreas Almgren race 200 meters—“a completely different thing.”
Cross-country skiing: FIS backtracks on announced sex testing policy
October 10, 2025 / SVT Sport
The International Ski Federation (FIS) has clarified that no final decision has been taken on implementing sex tests across its sports, despite earlier communications suggesting immediate adoption. FIS Council member Karin Mattsson says the earlier message was poorly communicated and that only a direction was agreed, not a finished policy; the next Council meeting is October 21. The article also places FIS’s move in the wider context of other federations’ approaches to eligibility and recent logistical and legal issues around sex testing in sport.
Sweden may lose a men’s cross‑country Olympic quota spot: “Could be a problem”
October 10, 2025 / Sveriges Radio (Radiosporten)
Sveriges Radio reports that Sweden risks dropping from eight to seven men’s cross‑country skier quota spots for the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. According to Expressen, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) aims to give smaller nations better qualification access, reducing preliminary maximum quotas for powerhouse teams like Sweden and Norway. Radiosporten expert Torgny Mogren calls it unfortunate and warns it creates selection challenges for countries with deep squads.