The International Olympic Committee has allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games, which will be held in Paris, but with a number of restrictions. As at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, athletes from Russia must compete in a neutral status. This means that neither the flag, nor the coat of arms, nor the anthem of Russia will be at the upcoming games.
The restrictions don’t end there. The IOC stated that only those athletes who did not make pro-war statements would be allowed to participate in the games. Active support of combat activities by an athlete or his support team means ineligibility for the 2024 Olympic Games. Also subject to the restriction are athletes who entered into contracts with the Russian or Belarusian military, or national security agencies. Also, teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport will not be considered. Individual players only.
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Are there any restrictions other than political ones?
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In their statement, the IOC repeatedly asserts that they advocate sports outside of politics and do not seek to limit athletes based on nationality, so they tried not to create obstacles for athletes from countries that are under sanctions.
However, in addition to purely political restrictions, there are others. Doping related. The President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Chairman of the International Testing Agency (ITA) assured those present that doping control in Russia continues. This year, more than 10,500 samples were collected from Russian athletes.
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This means that Russia remains in the top ten countries tested. In addition, it was indicated that in 2023 the ITA conducted more than 400 out-of-competition tests on athletes of Russian citizenship. Blood and urine samples are transported under a strict chain of custody to multiple laboratories outside the country. Any Adverse Analytical Findings are accepted and monitored by WADA.
How strict are the restrictions?
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It may seem that the rules for admission to the Olympic Games have not changed much compared to 2022. But this is not the case, and you can easily see this if you look at the statistics: how many athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to participate in the games?
The IOC says only 11 athletes from Russia and Belarus qualified for the Paris Olympics. Among them are 8 Russians and 3 citizens of Belarus. For comparison: 60 athletes from Ukraine have already qualified.
Russian and Belarusian athletes have practically not participated in international competitions for the last two years, so they had little chance to meet the necessary standards.