Russian and Belarusian athletes allowed to compete as neutrals at Paris Olympics 2024

Published at :December 9, 2023 at 1:09 PM

Modified at :December 14, 2023 at 10:29 AM

(Courtesy : Fat Tire Tours)

Athletes will be allowed to compete in only individual events.

Russian and Belarusian athletes who qualify for Paris Olympics 2024 can take part as neutrals without flags, emblems or anthems at the event next year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday December 8th. Russia and Belarus were been initially banned from competing internationally following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

Belarus had to bear the brunt of the committee’s decision as they gave Russia its base to carry out the attacks. However in March, the IOC issued a first set of recommendations for the international sports federations to allow Russian and Belarusian competitors to return and they have since done so in most events. This brought much needed respite for the athletes of these countries.

“The Executive Board (EB) of the IOC has decided that Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) who have qualified through the existing qualification systems of the International Federations (IFs) on the field of play will be declared eligible to compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” the Olympic body said in a statement. These individual neutral athletes are those who hold citizenship of these two aforementioned countries.

The IOC has always stood a firm ground against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. So much so that they also threatened the athletes who actively support the war in Ukraine of disqualification. Moreover, neither Russian nor Belarusian government/state official would be invited to or accredited for Paris 2024.

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Ukraine understandably are still objecting to this decision. They feel the Russian and Belarusian athletes shouldn’t even be allowed to participate as neutrals. Despite all the controversy surrounding the decision it is still good news that deserving competitors are getting their rewards and are not merely getting ignored and discredited for their national affiliations.

Out of 4,600 athletes globally who have qualified for the Paris Games so far, eight are from Russian and three from Belarus.

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