TERSKOL, Russia — Every time Nikita Filippov races, it’s an uphill struggle. At the Olympics, even more so.The 23-year-old from Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula is a medal contender in the rugged new Olympic sport of ski mountaineering — sprinting up a slope and then skiing back down.At the Milan Cortina Olympics, he’ll be one of the few Russians competing as “Individual Neutral Athletes.” That means they formally aren’t representing their country. They cannot wear any Russian symbols and won’t hear the Russian national anthem if they win a gold medal. “It gives me more competitive zeal in the race because I want to prove to everyone that we’re strong, even without the flag or anthem and can beat anyone,” Filippov told The Associated Press at a training camp in the Caucasus mountains. “I think everyone knows where we’re from and maybe it even attracts more attention.”Many sports barred Russian athletes from competing as part of the diplomatic fallout after Russian troops moved into Ukraine four days after the last Winter Olympics in 2022. Ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the International Olympic Committee gradually opened up paths for athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus to qualify with neutral status.Fifteen Russians competed as neutral athletes in Paris, …
