Athletes from Russia and Belarus can participate in Olympics neutrally: IOC

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has rejected the Paris mayor’s statement, saying it has no plans to block “delegations from Russia and Belarus” coming to the 2024 Olympics as neutrals. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said Russia would not allow its team to compete in next year’s Olympics if it continued the war against Ukraine. Olympic officials have made plans for athletes from Russia and Belarus.

Under this, athletes from these countries can participate in the qualification and competition of these Games as ‘neutral athletes’ without identification such as national team jersey, flag and national anthem. For this it is also necessary that these players have not actively supported the war. According to a statement released from the IOC, “There are no plans to accept the Russian or Belarus delegations or the flags of these countries at the Paris Olympic Games 2024. The only alternative is for players to participate individually and neutrally as we have seen in tennis last year at the French Open and more recently at the Australian Open and other professional sports.