IOC confirms Russian athletes can compete at Paris Olympics 2024 with approved neutral status
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Dec 8, 2023, 8:20 PM ISTInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday confirmed that some Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at Paris Olympics 2024 with neutral status.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Friday that certain Russian athletes will be permitted to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics, eliminating the possibility of a blanket ban in light of the invasion of Ukraine. This decision aligns with the IOC's year-long effort to reintegrate Russia and its military ally Belarus into the global sports community. The move comes nine months after the IOC encouraged sports governing bodies to explore ways to enable individual athletes to compete.
The responsibility now falls on each Olympic sport's governing body to evaluate and implement neutral status for individual athletes who have not actively supported the war and are not affiliated with military or state security agencies. Athletes granted neutral status will compete without displaying any national symbols, including flags, anthems, or colors.
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Team sports continue to be off-limits for Russia, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that out of the 4,600 qualified athletes for the upcoming Summer Games in July, eight are Russian and three are from Belarus.
Compared to the 335 athletes Russia sent to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, only a fraction are expected to participate in the Paris Games.
Despite calls from Ukraine, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urging the IOC to completely exclude Russia and Belarus due to their invasion starting in February 2022, the ban on team sports for these nations persists.
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