Whether or not to allow Russian athletes to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics will depend on how other athletes conduct themselves in international competitions, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Tuesday.
“It is too early to make a final decision,” Bach said, adding that “we have a responsibility not to punish athletes for the actions of their government. »
The IOC has encouraged sports federations this year to allow certain Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international competitions under a neutral banner, in particular the qualifying events for the Paris Games.
Bach had previously mentioned that the IOC would make a final decision “at the appropriate time, at its sole discretion” – which means that Russian and Belarusian athletes could potentially be excluded from the Olympics, while the war still continues in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Bach insisted that the IOC’s priority is to ensure athletes conduct themselves appropriately at competition venues, not how the war is progressing.
“Right now, we want to follow the situation more at the competition venues, to make sure that the regulations are respected, that the conditions are respected, by everyone,” Bach told reporters in a videoconference at one week from the start of the one-year countdown before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
Soccer and athletics have taken the toughest stances against Russia, excluding teams and their players from all competitions just days after the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia has d elsewhere been excluded from the qualifying process for the Men’s and Women’s Soccer World Cups.
The IOC shared this intransigent point of view at the start of the war, which began a few days after the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, citing Russia’s non-respect of the Olympic truce as well as security issues for the athletes.
Tennis and cycling nevertheless allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in their competitions under a neutral banner – but not in team competitions – without any symbol of their respective countries, and the IOC underlined that this approach had turned out to be a real success.
Ukrainian tennis players, including Elina Svitolina, refused to shake hands with their Russian and Belarusian opponents, prompting boos from crowds at the French Open and Wimbledon — for various reasons — as it was a departure from sports etiquette.
“It works pretty well,” Bach said Tuesday. They are respectful, and they have been clear in their desire to compete against the best athletes in the world. »
International sports federations have the final say in determining which athlete can compete, and their umbrella organization, ASOIF, admitted in May that it was very difficult to find common ground on the definition of “neutral athlete” and “team sport”.