The International Olympic Committee announced Friday that it will allow Russian athletes to compete at next summer’s 2024 Paris Olympics, despite the recent suspension of the country’s national Olympic committee and the continued war in Ukraine.
According to IOC regulations, Russian and Belarusian athletes must compete under the emblem and name of “Individual Neutral Athletes” (AIN). This is an attempt to prohibit countries from taking official positions without banning athletes from participating. To qualify as a “neutral athlete,” athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports must meet a series of conditions, including not expressing support for the war.
“We do not punish or sanction athletes for the actions of officials or governments,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in October, reiterating the organization’s long-standing position.
This will be the fourth consecutive Olympics in which Russia will technically be banned from participating, but its athletes will be welcomed under a different name. In 2018, it was the Russian Olympic Team (OAR). In 2021 and 2022, athletes technically represented the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) rather than the country itself.
This time, the Republic of China itself has been suspended for attempting to incorporate a sports organization from an illegally annexed region of Ukraine.
The IOC’s decision prompted an immediate backlash from Ukraine. The news comes a day after Vadim Guzeit, head of the country’s Olympic Committee, reiterated to Olympic leaders that Ukraine believes athletes from Russia and Belarus should not take part in the Olympics, in a statement. said that he had come.
“Together with our partner countries, we fought diplomatically to prevent this decision from being approved,” Guzeit said. “Despite all efforts, despite large numbers of military and civilian casualties, destruction of infrastructure and occupied territory, our voices have not been heard.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy took an even stronger stance on the issue, saying in January: “It is clear that the neutral flag of the Russian team is stained with blood.”
“When a war like this is going on, there is no such thing as neutrality,” President Zelenskiy said in a recorded speech at the time.
Ukrainian leaders have previously left open the possibility that their country could boycott the Paris Games if Russian athletes are allowed to participate.
The news was also not welcomed in Russia, where government leaders said they believed their athletes were being unfairly targeted. The country’s Sports Minister Oleg Matitsyn said on Friday that the IOC’s decision was detrimental to the Olympic movement, but that Russian athletes would continue to participate in the games and enjoy the support of the public.
“We are always rooting for ourselves,” he said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. “They are our athletes, members of our sports family, products of our sports system. Even if you try to fight him.”
The IOC outlined a path for Russian athletes to return to elite international competition earlier this year, but repeatedly said a final decision on the 2024 Paris Olympics would only be made “when the time is right.” The time appears to have arrived in the late afternoon in Lausanne, the organization’s home base.
There are some caveats to the IOC’s decision. Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to compete in any team events, and individual athletes will only be allowed to compete in events that have been approved by international federations as qualifying events, such as fencing and swimming. International federations in other sports, such as track and field, maintain strict bans on Russian and Belarusian athletes from 2022 onwards.
The IOC said, “A very limited number of athletes can qualify through the existing qualification system (of international sports federations),” and so far eight Russians have qualified for the Paris Games. He added that there were only three Belarusians.
According to IOC requirements, medals won by “neutral athletes” are not included in the official medal table. Uniforms must be white or solid color and include the “AIN” emblem. There will be no hoisting of Russian or Belarusian flags, no playing of national anthems, and no attendance by political or government officials from either country.
The IOC also said Russian or Belarusian athletes who serve in their country’s armed forces or are “actively supporting the war” are ineligible to compete in the Paris Games, but active Questions and concerns remain about how support can be confirmed. The IOC said it would work with international federations to conduct background checks and investigate social media activity.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.