MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. The International Biathlon Union (IBU) will allow no more than four Russian biathletes at the 2026 Olympics, provided they earn the required number of qualifying points at World Cup or IBU Cup events by mid-January, the IBU’s press office said in a statement to TASS on Friday. Belarusian athletes, who along with Russians were banned from competitions in 2022, are stuck in a similar situation. In 2022, the membership of their national federations was suspended by the IBU as well. "The status has not changed since the IBU Congress in 2022 voted to suspend the Russian Biathlon Union and the Biathlon Federation of Belarus until certain conditions are met," the IBU’s statement reads. "The EB [IBU Executive Board] closely monitors the developments on the ground in relation to the decision to suspend the RBU [Russian Biathlon Union] and BiFB [the Biathlon Federation of Belarus] as mandated by the Congress and appointed a monitoring group which regularly reports to the Board. There are no actions or changes to be expected at this time," according to the IBU. "Regarding the potential participation of Russian or Belarussian biathletes in the Olympic Winter Games 2026 it should be noted that the NOC quota for Milano-Cortina 2026 has already been attributed to National Olympic Committees as per the IBU World Cup Nation Cup standings 2024/2025," the statement continued. "Wildcards for NOCs without quota (max. 2 per gender per NOC) can still be gained until mid-January based on IBU Qualifying Points. Without any participation in IBU Events (WC or IBU Cup) before the OWG, no wildcards can be earned. The IBU Event & Competition rules do not provide a rule for neutral athlete participation," the IBU’s press office added. Competitions on the international biathlon season’s calendar will begin in November. The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Italy, in the cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The event will take place from February 6-22, 2026.