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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has provisionally lifted the suspension of Russia's Olympic Committee (ROC) and ended its recommendations to sports federations for a strict vetting process for Russian athletes.
The decision by the IOC executive board on Tuesday comes ahead of the start of qualifying events for the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
The ROC was suspended in 2023 because it had incorporated sports bodies occupied areas of Ukraine.
The IOC said that this is now not longer the case but it will only decide "at the appropriate time" whether Russian athletes can compete with their national symbols of flag and anthem.
Over the last years Russian athletes had to go through a strict vetting process by sports federations in order to compete as neutral athletes at big events including the Paris 2024 Olympics and 2026 Milan/Cortina Winter Games.
Russian athletes have competed without their anthem and flag since the 2018 Winter Games, first due to doping practices in the country.
They were excluded after the start of the invasion of Ukraine a few days after the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and the ROC suspended a year later.
The IOC then opened a pathway for them to compete again in the run-up to the Paris Games via the vetting process in which they had confirm they were not supporting the war in public and weren't affiliated with the military and other security organizations.
The IOC said on Tuesday that these recommendations are "no longer applicable" because the ROC no longer contains sports bodies from the occupied areas.
It said Russians aiming to return must go through strict anti-doping procedures in order to “address the lack of confidence in the global sporting community relating to the return of Russian athletes to international competition.”
The IOC added it would not organize IOC events in Russia or invite Russian government or state officials to its events.
IOC president Kirsty Coventry told reporters that the IOC opposes "any kind of violence and war and will continue to support Ukraine."
But she also reiterated that it wasn't right that athletes "should pay the price for this."
The easing of restrictions on Russia was expected after the IOC recommended two months ago that Russia's ally Belarus should be allowed to compete again without any restrictions and with their national symbols.
Continue reading...
The decision by the IOC executive board on Tuesday comes ahead of the start of qualifying events for the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
The ROC was suspended in 2023 because it had incorporated sports bodies occupied areas of Ukraine.
The IOC said that this is now not longer the case but it will only decide "at the appropriate time" whether Russian athletes can compete with their national symbols of flag and anthem.
Over the last years Russian athletes had to go through a strict vetting process by sports federations in order to compete as neutral athletes at big events including the Paris 2024 Olympics and 2026 Milan/Cortina Winter Games.
Russian athletes have competed without their anthem and flag since the 2018 Winter Games, first due to doping practices in the country.
They were excluded after the start of the invasion of Ukraine a few days after the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and the ROC suspended a year later.
The IOC then opened a pathway for them to compete again in the run-up to the Paris Games via the vetting process in which they had confirm they were not supporting the war in public and weren't affiliated with the military and other security organizations.
The IOC said on Tuesday that these recommendations are "no longer applicable" because the ROC no longer contains sports bodies from the occupied areas.
It said Russians aiming to return must go through strict anti-doping procedures in order to “address the lack of confidence in the global sporting community relating to the return of Russian athletes to international competition.”
The IOC added it would not organize IOC events in Russia or invite Russian government or state officials to its events.
IOC president Kirsty Coventry told reporters that the IOC opposes "any kind of violence and war and will continue to support Ukraine."
But she also reiterated that it wasn't right that athletes "should pay the price for this."
The easing of restrictions on Russia was expected after the IOC recommended two months ago that Russia's ally Belarus should be allowed to compete again without any restrictions and with their national symbols.
Continue reading...
