Will Russia compete at the Olympics 2024?
Will they? Won't they?
Paris 2024: another Olympic Games, and another international sporting event with limited participation by Russian athletes.
However, unlike the last two Olympics – where a doping scandal and subsequent bans imposed by anti-doping authorities saw many Russians first barred from competing entirely, and then only allowed to do so under a neutral name – it’s for a non-sporting reason this time.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked an ongoing conflict between the two Eastern European neighbours and subsequent calls for athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus to be banned from the world’s greatest sporting contest entirely.
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When allowed to compete under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), 335 Russian athletes won a combined 71 medals – 20 of which were gold – at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
But this time dozens at most are expected to compete in Paris from either country, and they will be permitted to do so only as individuals athletes.
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RadioTimes.com explains how some athletes from Russia and Belarus are able to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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Are Russian athletes banned from Olympics 2024?
The short answer is no, not entirely. Russia will not compete as a formal entity at the Games, but not all individuals are banned.
While Russian and Belarusian teams in team sports remain unable to qualify, there is an avenue through which certain individual athletes from the two countries can compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Despite initial consideration of a blanket ban, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it will allow some Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the 2024 Olympics provided they qualify and also pass a vetting process.
The IOC’s Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel is the body tasked with carrying out eligibility evaluations for every athlete with a Russian or Belarusian passport who has or could earn a qualification spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
These checks will also examine all members of these athletes’ entourage that could attend the Games.
A key aspect of the vetting process is that the athletes must not have actively supported the war in Ukraine.
Athletes must not be contracted to any military or security agencies and are required to meet all anti-doping criteria and sign the ‘Conditions of Participation for Paris’.
The IOC have also announced that any athletes from Russia and Belarus who do pass the vetting process will still be barred from participating in the historic Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony – which is set to be held along the River Seine – but that “an opportunity will be provided to them to experience the event”.
A flag for these “Individual Neutral Athletes”, dubbed “AINs” by the IOC, in Paris has also been approved, as well as an anthem which has no lyrics.
The anthem will be played, and flag flown, if an AIN athlete wins a medal, though these medals will not be displayed on a National Olympic Committee medal table.
The IOC has said it expects about 36 Russian and 22 Belarusian athletes to be competing as neutrals in Paris. Depending on qualifying standards and per-country athlete quotas, the maximum number is understood to be 54 and 28 respectively.
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