Maximum 54 athletes from Russia
The International Olympic Committee, after the executive committee meeting, published a document that strictly regulates the conditions for Russian and Belarusian athletes who can participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The statement was published on the official website of the IOC and it is stated that currently 12 athletes from Russia have passed the Olympic qualifications, and the maximum number of them at the Games in Paris will not exceed 54.
It is reported that the most likely number of participants from Russia in the Olympics is 36 athletes.
Seven people from Belarus have been selected for the French capital for the competition, which will be held from July 26 to August 11, and the maximum number of Belarusians there could be 28.
No declaration against SVO
Contrary to the demands of some National Olympic Committees, Russian athletes will not be required to sign statements condemning the conflict in Ukraine in order to participate in the Games.
At the same time, the IOC will monitor the activities of athletes on social networks and the media and will not allow athletes who actively support a special military operation to participate in the Olympic Games.
“We will not require athletes performing in neutral status to sign any additional declarations. Like all participants in the Olympic Games, they will only need to sign an agreement with the Olympic Charter,” said James MacLeod, Director of the IOC Department for Relations with National Olympic Committees.
However, the IOC will not impose sanctions on sports federations that allow Russian athletes who support SVO to compete.
“We will not impose sanctions on the federations, we have given them some recommendations to implement in their own structures. “We are working on the Olympics in Paris and approving candidates for participation,” IOC Director of Sport Keith McConnell said.
Without attending the opening parade
Information published in December that members of the Russian and Belarusian delegations will not be able to participate in the athletes’ parade at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games has also been confirmed. At the same time, access to the stands will probably be open to them. The event itself will take place on July 26.
As for the closing ceremony, the issue of the participation of neutral athletes will be discussed later.
“Neutral athletes will not be able to participate in the parade of the delegations (teams) as they are individual athletes. However, they will be given the opportunity to gain experience from this event. In a statement, the IOC stated that the same principle was applied to independent participants from the former Yugoslavia in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
The IOC also released the flag under which Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete. This is a turquoise rectangle with a white circle, inside which the abbreviation AIN (Individual Neutral Athletes) is indicated in capital letters with a decoding of this inscription in English and French.
Special commissions and sanctions for Friendship Games
The International Olympic Committee has announced the creation of a special Individually Neutral Panel (AINERP) that will assess the suitability of each athlete and support staff to participate in the Olympic Games.
The panel will include IOC Vice President Nicole Hovertz, who will chair the panel, Pau Gasol, representative of the IOC Ethics Commission, and Seung Min Ryu, representative of the IOC Athletes’ Commission.
In addition, the International Olympic Committee officially announced that it would consider the issue of imposing sanctions on participants in the Friendship Games announced by Russia, which the IOC described as a “political action”.
Two transfers from the Russian national team
The IOC Executive Committee also approved the change of citizenship of two former Russian athletes. We are talking about wrestler Alexander Komarov, who has represented Serbia in international competitions since the beginning of 2024 and managed to become the European champion within this scope. He previously won two bronze medals with the Russian team in this tournament in 2019 and 2020.
The famous swimmer, European champion Anastasia Kirpichnikova, who became the first athlete in her sport to simultaneously compete in both pool and open water swimming competitions as part of the Russian team at the Tokyo Olympics, also came under her banner. Another country. Kirpichnikova has been living in France for five years and also trains under the guidance of French specialists.