This Friday, December 8, the International Olympic Committee authorized Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate under a neutral banner in the 2024 Paris Olympics, excluding team events and as long as they have not actively supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine. . Only eleven “neutral individual athletes” have so far qualified for the competition, eight Russians and three Belarusians, the IOC said in a press release, compared to around sixty Ukrainian athletes.
2 mins
The question is crucial since the fear of seeing a Ukrainian delegation absent or very weakened in Paris has long worried the Olympic body, and would have made the presence of Russian athletes even more politically delicate, even without an anthem or flag.
After banning Russians and Belarusians from world sport at the end of February 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the IOC therefore reasoned in two stages to organize their return. The IOC has repeatedly explained that athletes should not “ pay » for the actions of their government.
A reintegration of athletes into their competitions
Last March, the Olympic organization first recommended that international federations reinstate Russians and Belarusians under neutral banners in their competitions. While pushing back “ at an appropriate time » its decision on the 2024 Paris Olympics as well as the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
The Olympic body took the time to evaluate the progress of the competitions – considered generally satisfactory – and to see the position of the Ukrainian government evolve. The latter first required his athletes to boycott any event involving Russians before softening his position this summer.
A clear sign from the sporting world
Furthermore, if the international federations followed this recommendation in a dispersed manner – athletics in particular still refuses to reinstate the Russians – the 12th Olympic Summit organized on December 5 in Lausanne resulted in a clear signal from the sporting world.
Representatives of international federations, the 206 national Olympic committees and athletes have all called for a decision “ fast », to allow the presence in Paris of the small number of Russian and Belarusian athletes who were able to overcome the qualification obstacle.
Read also2024 Olympics: UN adopts Olympic truce despite opposition from Russia
(With AFP)