The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are still more than a year and a half away, but the discussion about whether Russian and Belarusian athletes can participate has already started. In many sports, the Olympic qualifiers start next year.
The issue came to the fore on Monday, when the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee USOPC announced that it would be sympathetic to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris Games as “neutral” athletes, i.e. without national symbols. Russia and Belarus were banned from international sports competitions after Russia launched a war of aggression in Ukraine on February 24.
According to the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, at last week’s IOC meeting, they wanted to find out how and when the return of Russians and Belarusians would be possible. the chairman of the IOC by Thomas Bach by (you switch to another service) it is not yet clear when the final decision will be made on the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the Olympics.
Last week, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly approved a declaration that, among other things, concerned the integrity of sports in the midst of international conflicts. It was accepted by Russia, Ukraine and Finland as well.
– I encourage all member states to maintain the spirit that unites sports and the Olympic movement. It is much more stimulating to compete on sports fields than on battlefields. Although we live in a volatile world, I think sports organizations should remain open, President of the UN General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi said in the release.
Finnish member of the IOC Sari Essayah reported to Urheilu that the UN statement started a discussion in the IOC about how Russians and Belarusians could be seen in Paris. According to Essayah, Asian countries and the United States, among others, have since wanted to explore the possibility of organizing Olympic qualifiers for Russian athletes in Asia.
The suspension of Russian athletes is questioned in the IOC
Chairman of the Athletes’ Commission of the International Olympic Committee Emma Terho confirms to Urheilu that the return of Russians and Belarusians was discussed in the IOC last Wednesday for several hours.
The outcome of the meeting was that the IOC still adheres to its February recommendation to exclude Russia and Belarus from international sports activities and to its recommendation not to invite athletes from these countries to international competitions.
Terho, who attended the IOC board meeting, says he is satisfied with the decision.
– Later in the week, on a different occasion, Asia suggested that they might be ready to include the Russians in their own games. At that event, it was agreed that the proposal will be studied in more detail and that stakeholders will be consulted during the beginning of the year. After that, it’s time to make a decision, whichever direction it takes, says Terho.
In his role as chairman of the athletes’ commission, Terho has seen that a large part of the countries are in favor of releasing the collar of Russians and Belarusians. Even within the commission, there are views across the board. Already in February, many in the IOC questioned the umbrella organization’s decision to exclude Russians from international sports.
– Not because the war is supported, but because shutting down an individual athlete has been against the mission, and it has been asked why Europeans’ war is different from others. Now that questioning has intensified and the decision has had to be justified more and more. There are very different tones. The Nordic countries have made their position very clear, and it is one that you can stand behind, says Terho.
Finland, together with the other Nordic countries, has communicated to the IOC that Russians and Belarusians should not return to international sports while the war is going on.
The Nordic countries were not invited to the informal meeting
CEO of the Finnish Olympic Committee Taina Susiluoto finds the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s statement and its timing troubling.
– Now there has been no such change in the war situation between Russia and Ukraine that would give reason to make changes at the moment. We are aware that we are in the minority in the world with our own position, says Taina Susiluoto.
According to Susiluoto, the IOC organized a more informal meeting last week, to which only some countries were invited. The Nordic countries were not invited to this meeting.
– At least the United States, China and Russia were involved. Sounds like great power politics, doesn’t it? It is (KOK chairman) Thomas Bach’s decision who they want to hear off the record (informally), because it was not an official meeting, says Susiluoto.
Russia has publicly criticized the IOC’s decision and communicated to the IOC its frustration with its treatment, but according to Emma Terho, at least there has been no major direct lobbying from Russia.
According to Terho, it is too early to discuss Paris and whether the Russians and Belarusians can compete there, even if the war has not ended.
– The Paris decision has not been discussed anywhere that I myself have been involved. I’m not going to speculate whether the Russians could be involved in Paris. We all wish the geopolitical situation would be different then. There are many things that should happen on the way, says Terho.
The Paralympic Committee ultimately follows the IOC
Chairman of the Finnish Paralympic Committee Riikka Juntunen says he was surprised by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s announcement that it is sympathetic to Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Games.
– Yes, it is surprising that such a strong position is taken from that direction. I would not have thought that the United States would be the one to strongly defend meetings of Russian athletes, says Juntunen.
In November, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) clarified the position of its member countries on the return of Russian athletes at its extraordinary general assembly. According to Juntunen, a clear majority was against the return of Russians and Belarusians to international sports.
– If the International Olympic Committee outlines something, the International Paralympic Committee will have to take the issue up on the table again. However, this decision is easy for us at the moment, says Juntunen.
Last March, the International Paralympic Committee made a decision that aroused criticism, according to which Russian and Belarusian athletes could have competed in the Beijing Paralympics as neutral athletes without national symbols. The umbrella organization faced enormous pressure from the Finnish Paralympic Committee and other member organizations, so the IPC ended up completely excluding Russia and Belarus from the Beijing Paralympics. The decision came just two days before the start of the Paralympics.
The international athletics federation World Athletics has been consistent in its policies since the beginning of Russia’s hostilities, praises the chairman of the Finnish Athletics Federation, i.e. the Finnish Sports Association Riikka Pakarinen. In Pakarinen’s opinion, discussions about the participation of Russians and Belarusians should only start after the Russian war of aggression has ended.
– I found these statements from the United States and the IOC really sad. From there, there has been constant slippage and divergence in views. The Finnish Sports Federation has a completely negative attitude to this kind of reasoning. If you think about other sanctions that have been imposed on Russia, it looks really bad if sport starts to deviate from it, Pakarinen says.
Someone will be disappointed with the final decision
Susiluoto of the Olympic Committee, Juntunen of the Paralympic Committee and Pakarinen of SUL do not want to speculate on the possibility of a Finnish boycott for now, if Russian athletes compete in Paris. According to Susiluoto and Juntunen, boycotting the Olympics would be a bad decision for Finnish athletes.
Whether the Russian and Belarusian athletes made it to Paris or not, someone is not happy.
– In the longer term, there is a risk that there will be boycotts and counter-boycotts, no matter which direction the decision is taken. They have been seen in history, and of course it is not a good situation, says Emma Terho.