2024 Paris Olympics: Russian athletes allowed to compete as neutral athletes amid nation's war with Ukraine

Russian athletes will compete in Paris despite the country's national Olympic committee suspension

The International Olympic Committee announced Friday that Russian athletes will be permitted to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, despite both the suspension of Russia's national Olympic committee and the nation's ongoing war with Ukraine. Per the terms of their acceptance, athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports will be required to meet a list of conditions to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs), namely that they do not express support for Russia's war and that they are not contracted to the Russian or Belarusian militaries or national security agencies.

In ruling to allow Russian athletes to compete in the Olympics, the IOC listed among the considerations the views of "the overwhelming majority of athletes not to punish fellow athletes for the actions of their government," views that were reaffirmed in consultation calls with stakeholders of the Olympic Movement. The IOC also cited the concerns of two Special Rapporteurs from the UN Human Rights Council, who requested that the IOC ensure the "non-discrimination of any athlete on the basis of their nationality."

Sanctions against Russian and Belarusian states and governments will remain in place, meaning no official identifiers of Russia or Belarus will be present at the Olympics. This will mark the fourth straight Olympics that Russia as a nation will be technically banned from, although its athletes have competed in the Olympics under a different name. Russian athletes last competed under the Russian Olympic Committee, which has been suspended for attempting to incorporate sports organizations from an annexed part of Ukraine.

"Despite the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), the IOC EB did not change its recommendations concerning the participation of AINs under these strict conditions," read a statement from the IOC. "The protection of the rights of individual athletes to participate in competitions despite the suspension of their NOC is a well-established practice, respecting human rights, and has been implemented across a number of suspended NOCs during past Olympic Games. 

"The ROC had to be suspended because of its unilateral decision to include as its members the regional sports organisations under the authority of the NOC of Ukraine, which is a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine."

The IOC's permitting Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete is consistent with the messaging of the organization. In October, IOC president Thomas Bach repeated the organization's long-held stance: "We do not punish or sanction athletes for the acts of their officials or government."