The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved 14 athletes from Russia and 11 Belarusians to compete at the upcoming Paris Olympics under a neutral status. This decision comes after an assessment by an IOC panel to determine if athletes had expressed support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine or had ties to sports clubs associated with the military or state security services.
Five sports, including cycling, gymnastics, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling, were the first to be evaluated, with more sports expected to follow suit in the coming days. Notably, athletes from tennis, swimming, and judo were not included in this initial list.
Among the athletes approved on Saturday are Ivan Litvinovich from Belarus, the defending Olympic champion in men's trampoline, and Russian cyclist Aleksandr Vlasov, who has achieved three top-10 finishes in Grand Tours throughout his career.
It remains uncertain how many Russian athletes will ultimately participate in the Paris Olympics, as the IOC has already prohibited them from taking part in the opening ceremony parade along the River Seine.
Notably, no athletes were approved in taekwondo, a sport where the Russian team had secured two gold medals in the previous Olympics. Russia and Belarus have been banned from team sports at the Paris Olympics due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Individual athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports have been granted the opportunity to compete as neutrals in qualifying events across various sports, with the possibility of applying for entry to the Olympics.
Ukrainian athletes, including Olympic medalists and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have called for a blanket ban on all Russian participants. While track and field have implemented such a ban, FIFA and UEFA have also excluded Russian teams from international competitions following the invasion of Ukraine.
The process for athletes to attain neutral status involves vetting by sports governing bodies, followed by review by the IOC panel, with the option for appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Athletes competing as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) are required to do so without displaying the Russian flag or wearing uniforms in the country's colors.
Additionally, the Russian anthem will be replaced with music commissioned by the IOC, and any medals won by these athletes will not be included in official medal tables.
For more updates on the Summer Olympics, visit AP Summer Olympics.
