IOC Declines to Give Russia and Belarus Formal Invites to 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
Russian and Belarusian athletes may still be able to compete under a neutral flag
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The logo for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.Russia and Belarus will not be invited to compete in the 2024 Olympics.
In a Q&A released Friday, the International Olympic Committee announced that Russia and Belarus were not on the list of 203 countries to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics, taking place in Paris.
The decision comes amid ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, as Russia continues its full-scale invasion into the eastern European nation. As an ally of Russia, Belarus was also implicated in the IOC’s decision.
“The IOC’s position is clear,” a representative for the committee wrote. “We condemned the war from the first day. We imposed unprecedented sanctions on the Russian and Belarusian governments.”
Even with the two countries banned from the games, athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports will still be allowed to participate. IOC rules released in March mandate that athletes with these national passports compete “only as Individual Neutral Athletes.”
“The mission of the Olympic Games is to unite the entire world in peaceful competition. In our fragile world, with conflicts, divisions and wars rising, we need this unifying power more than ever," IOC President Thomas Bach said, according to WPTV. “With the Olympic Games Paris 2024, we can truly look forward to the advent of a new era of Olympic Games. These Olympic Games will be more inclusive, younger, more urban and more sustainable."
While the question of Russian involvement in the Olympics has been fraught since the initial invasion of Ukraine, tensions were heightened after Thursday’s World Fencing Championships.
After Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent Anna Smirnova, Kharlan was disqualified. The rules of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) state that the two fencers must shake hands.
The IOC responded to the day’s events just hours later, amending their Q&A and doubling down on their commitment to banning Russia and Belarus from the international competition.
Lee Jin-man/AP Photo
Olga Kharlan of Ukraine after defeating Cyrielle Rioux of France during the women's FIE fencing sabre grand prix competition in Seoul, South Korea, on April 29, 2023.“We encourage International Federations to handle situations involving Ukrainian and Individual Neutral Athletes with the necessary degree of sensitivity,” the Q&A read. “We continue to stand in full solidarity with the Ukrainian athletes and the Olympic community of Ukraine.”
Stanislav Pozdnyakov, president of the Russian Olympic Committee, reacted to the decision on Friday. "The statement in question indicates that the IOC determined for itself and picked a side in the political conflict, (and) began to act in the interests of this side," Pozdnyakov said on Telegram.
"Now we have been involuntarily but clearly shown the attitude which absolutely any Russian will face at international competitions," he continued. "Olympism is officially being made a tool controlled from the outside in the interests of a geopolitical order to neutralise our citizens and organisation in sports."
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The Russian and Belarusian bans in international athletic competitions are not new. In 2022, Wimbledon banned the countries from sending tennis players to their tournament. They would later soften the ban, inviting them back to the 2023 matches.
American athletes have been lining up to compete in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. Recently, gymnast Simone Biles announced that she would be returning to the games. Her fellow competitor Suni Lee, however, was a bit more hesitant at first.
“I don't know. Yeah, I'm still making a decision," Lee, 20, told PEOPLE exclusively last year. "I'm definitely starting to take it day by day, just trying to figure out what I want to do, and yeah, hopefully."
Since then, Lee has committed herself to aiming for Paris amid health complications. In April, she announced she will end her college career at Auburn early due to a kidney issue.
"I am blessed and thankful to be working with the best specialized medical team to treat and manage my diagnosis. My focus at this time is my health and recovery," the gold medalist wrote via Twitter. "It's been challenging to end my Auburn career early, but I am thankful for all of the love and support. I want to especially thank my doctors, coaches and the Auburn medical staff for their care during this time."
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She added: "I will not stop pursuing my dreams for a bid to Paris in 2024. In fact, this experience has sharpened my vision for the future."
The Games are scheduled from July 26 – Aug. 11, 2024, in Paris, France.
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