Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, has suggested that Russian athletes should enter the 2024 Olympics as individual competitors rather than as a national team. This stance is reported by RIA News.
“Maintaining the level of our athletes requires ongoing participation in international events, and that cannot happen without such competitions,” Peskov noted. He added that some athletes may participate in the Paris Games in a personal capacity, and he supported that approach.
In late February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged international sports federations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing. The IOC later declined to extend an invitation to Russia for the Paris Games, with the deadline set for July 26, 2023.
The question of whether Russia will participate in the 2024 Games remains unresolved, with the decision deferred indefinitely. IOC president Thomas Bach stated at a press conference that a determination would be announced no later than one year ahead of the Games.
Earlier, coach Tatyana Tarasova had remarked that Russian figure skating need not look toward Asia for guidance or competition.