The International Olympic Committee has long refused athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international competitions. This is due to the aggressive war waged by Russia against Ukraine.
For a few months, athletes from both Russia and Belarus were given the green light to participate in the Paralympics as neutral athletes with certain restrictions.
It was therefore expected that the International Olympic Committee would do the same.
Russia has long accused the International Olympic Committee of double standards. They accused the International Olympic Committee of dealing with the conflict between Israel and Palestine differently than the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russia submitted its demands to the International Olympic Committee.
Committee spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS: – We call on the International Olympic Committee to end the practice of double standards in a clear and unambiguous manner, and to strictly implement equal treatment for all athletes without exception and without discrimination on any basis.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Photograph: Alexander Nemenov/AFP
In a statement on International Olympic Committee website Which was issued on Friday afternoon, and stated, among other things, the following:
– The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided that individual neutral athletes (AIN) who have qualified through the current qualification systems of international federations can compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This also applies to athletes of Russian or Russian origin. Belarusian passports.
The Olympic Games will be held in the French capital from July 26 to August 10.
We expect the same number of Ukrainian athletes as in 2020
The IOC wrote that a very limited number of athletes would be neutral.
– Of the 4,600 athletes from around the world who have qualified for Paris 2024 so far, there are only eleven neutral individual athletes. Eight of them hold Russian passports, and three hold Belarusian passports, the IOC wrote.
In comparison, more than 60 Ukrainian athletes have so far qualified for the Paris 2024 Games.
– The size of the Ukrainian delegation is expected to be the same size as the delegation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee writes.
The Olympic Summits’ recommendation led to sharp criticism
Earlier this year, Olympic leaders made a recommendation that Russians and Belarusians be allowed to return to sport under strict principles of neutrality.
This quickly led to sharp criticism from several quarters.
The recommendation does not apply to the Summer Olympics in Paris next year and the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina in 2026. A decision on this was announced later. Therefore, this decision came on Friday.
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
