Russian athletes should be present in Paris next summer. This Friday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, sparked by Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the IOC has delayed making a decision on whether these athletes will participate or not.
Several conditions will be imposed. Athletes will compete under neutral banners, will not be able to compete in team competitions, and will not be able to actively support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
So far, only eleven “neutral individual athletes” have qualified to compete: eight Russians and three Belarusians, the IOC press release said, compared with about sixty Ukrainian athletes.
Call from international federations
On Tuesday, international sports federations asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris under a neutral flag “as soon as possible.” The Olympic summit, an annual meeting behind closed doors in Lausanne, ended with a clear final communiqué.
“Representatives of international summer sports federations,” supported by representatives of 209 national Olympic organizations, “requested that the IOC declare eligible” to participate in the Paris Games “neutral individual athletes who have qualified or will qualify” for participation in the Paris Games. event.
An appeal that did not please the Ukrainians. “As President Vladimir Zelensky rightly said, it is obvious that any neutral flag of Russian athletes is stained with blood,” said Acting Sports Minister Marviy Bidny.
“We count on a responsible decision and leadership from the IOC that will not allow Russia to use sport for military propaganda purposes,” added the interim minister, whose predecessor Vadim Gutzeit was removed from the government in November.
Source: Le Parisien
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