What does AIN stand for at the Olympics 2024?
Prepare for a new acronym to hit your TV screens over the days to come.
Paris 2024 marks the fifth straight Olympics at which Russia will see its participation limited in some way.
Russia has faced some level of sanctions at every winter and summer Games – Rio 2016, Pyeongchang 2018, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 – since the country’s doping scandal first came to light at Sochi 2014.
Its participation, along with that of its neighbour and close ally Belarus, will be limited again in Paris, this time as a result of Russia’s invasion – supported by Belarus – of Ukraine in February 2022 and the ongoing conflict between the two nations.
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Some sportspeople from both countries will, at the discretion of their sports' governing bodies, be allowed to compete at this summer’s Games as individual athletes – but only after passing a vetting process set out by the International Olympic Committee .
The situation has led to the creation of a new acronym at Paris 2024: AIN.
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What does AIN stand for at the Olympics 2024?
AIN is an acronym for Athlète Individuel Neutre, the French name for 'Individual Neutral Athlete', and is the IOC country code under which vetted Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
A total of 335 Russian athletes competed under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, bringing home a combined 71 medals, with 20 of them gold.
But in Paris – with team sports banned for both nations while qualifying individual athletes face a strict vetting process – no more than a few dozen Russian and Belarusian passport-holding athletes are expected to compete as AINs.
A key aspect of the IOC’s vetting process, which is to be carried out by the IOC’s Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel, is that athletes must not have actively supported the war in Ukraine.
To be eligible to compete as an AIN at Paris 2024, athletes also must not be contracted or have direct ties to any military or security agencies, and are required to meet all anti-doping criteria and sign the 'Conditions of Participation for Paris'.
The same criteria are also used for any of the athletes' support personnel from the two Eastern European nations.
Even if Russian and Belarusian athletes pass the vetting process, they will still be barred from taking part in the Paris 2024 opening ceremony.
AINs will also compete under a neutral flag – depicting a circular AIN emblem in white on a teal background – at the 2024 Olympics, while an anthem with no lyrics, which has been approved by the IOC, will be played if an AIN wins a gold medal.
These medals will not, however, be displayed on National Olympic Committee medal tables.
The IOC has said it expects around 36 Russian athletes and 22 Belarusian athletes to compete as AINS in Paris.
As of 28th March 2024, 12 AINs with Russian passports and seven AINs with Belarusian passports had qualified for Paris 2024, the IOC said.
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