the IOC authorizes the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes under a neutral banner

The Olympic authorities decided earlier than expected. Expected for the month of March 2024, the opinion of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games was delivered on Friday December 8. The IOC therefore says it is in favor of the inclusion of these athletes under a neutral banner, excluding team events. – and whether they did not actively support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Only eleven “neutral individual athletes” have so far qualified for the competition, eight Russians and three Belarusians, the IOC said in a press release, compared to around sixty Ukrainian athletes.

The Olympic world favorable to this participation

For several weeks, representatives of international federations and national Olympic committees have been calling for the admission as soon as possible of Russian and Belarusian athletes for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. “The fundamental message of the Olympic movement is to create peace through sport in a world today very divided, where we see wars almost everywhere. It is a message of hope that the we want to wear”, declared David Lappartient, the president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee.

A position which provokes the ire of the Ukrainian government, firmly opposed to this inclusion. “It is obvious that any neutral flag of Russian athletes is stained with blood”declared Matviy Bidnyi, the Ukrainian Minister of Sports, on Thursday, using a formula used by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “It is desirable to have Ukrainian athletes standing next to Russian athletes”declared for her part Marie-Amélie Le Fur, president of the French Paralympic and sports committee.