13 Russian athletes are competing as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) at the Milan Games. Without their flag, their anthem, and national identity, they navigate the Olympics quite differently than the rest. However, one Russian-born athlete took a different path and ended up on a podium.

Nexta TV reported that 23-year-old speed skater Vladimir Semirunniy, who is originally from Yekaterinburg,Russia, but obtained a Poland citizenship in 2025, stood on the podium at the Milan Speed Skating Stadium on Friday after claiming a silver medal in the men’s 10,000m. This marks Poland’s second podium at the Milan Winter Olympics.

In the race, Semirunniy powered to a time of 12 minutes and 39.08 seconds, finishing behind the young Czech sensation Metodej Jilek, who took gold, and ahead of the seasoned Dutch veteran Jorrit Bergsma. His win caused great happiness to the people back in Poland.

The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk congratulated him on his medal. So did the Polish Sports Minister, Jakub Rutnicki, applauded his “incredible success.”

Semirunniy managed the early laps well, with a chance of being in contention for the gold medal. However, he fell to silver around 6800m and continued the momentum to capture that specific medal. With this, he secured Poland’s second medal at the Milan Games. But his journey has been anything but easy.

In 2023, the Russian-born Olympian moved to Poland. However, the challenges were immense. Changing his international allegiance took time, due to the compulsory suspension period before a switch. The International Skating Union settled on 14 months for Semirunniy.

The moment his ban from competing was lifted, he grabbed a gold medal at the Polish Allround Speed Skating Championships and even set the fastest time in the men’s 10000m nationally. However his installation in the team took time and trust, but Semirunniy put in the effort.

At first he wasn’t conversational in Polish language, but he brought himself up to speed.

“When I left, I knew it was a one-way ticket. Criticism on the internet doesn’t bother me. I have many good friends who helped me sort it out in my head,” the speed skater said back then, as he shifted his focus to the sport.

“I only want to have first places in my head,” says Semirunniy himself. “Whether it is at the European Championships, the World Cup or the Olympic Games. I want to win regardless of the rank of the competition.”

And fast forward to 2026, he already holds an Olympic silver medal. However, Semirunniy isn’t alone. There are other Russian athletes who changed their citizenship prior to competing at the Milan Games.

Athletes who changed their citizenship before the Milan Games

Apart from the 13 AINs, Russia’s Sports Ministry confirmed in 2023 that 67 national team athletes had changed sporting citizenship.

Many figure skaters make that list, including Ekaterina Kurakova in women’s singles, Moscow native Vladimir Samoilov in men’s singles, and Yulia Shchetinina in pairs. More pairs like Alexei Sviatchenko and Maria Pavlova are competing for Hungary.

Even ice dancer Diana Davis now competes for Georgia and was seen at the opening ceremony as her new country’s flag bearer. Indeed, amidst all the controversy, their spirit to compete hasn’t died down.