- Title: IOC issues recommendations for Russian athletes' return to competitions
- Date: 28th March 2023
- Summary: LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2022) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) HEADQUARTERS WITH OLYMPIC RINGS SIGN SAYING INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE IOC FLAG EXTERIOR OF IOC HEADQUARTERS OLYMPIC RINGS OUTSIDE HEADQUARTERS
- Embargoed: 11th April 2023 16:36
- Keywords: Belarus IOC International Olympic Committee Olympics Russia Thomas Bach Ukraine
- Location: LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND
- City: LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Europe,Olympics,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA002094928032023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS NOTE: CONTAINS WHITE FLASHES
The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday (March 28) issued recommendations for the gradual return to international competitions for Russian and Belarusian athletes, with president Thomas Bach saying the decision should be based on sporting grounds and not politics.
The IOC Executive Board's recommendations relate only to the return of those athletes in international competitions but not the 2024 Olympics where a separate decision will be taken at a later date, Bach said.
The IOC had sanctioned Russia and Belarus after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine but it is now eager to see athletes come back across all sports and have a chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
It has set out a pathway for these competitors to earn Olympic slots through Asian qualifying and left it up to international federations to decide on organisation, but has faced headwinds, with Ukraine threatening to boycott the Paris Games should they compete there, even as neutrals.
“The Olympic movement stakeholders reiterated their firm restriction of any political interference in the autonomous authority of sports organisations to decide on participation in their competitions. This clear and strong reaction to political interference was considered necessary because if governments took over the decision regarding which athletes can take part in which competitions, it would be the end of world sport as we know it today,†Bach told a news conference after the meeting.
Bach said the recommendations for events organisers and sports federations to follow include Russian and Belarusian athletes can only compete as neutrals, with no flag or anthem.
They cannot take part in team events and have to have a proven drugs testing record.
Athletes who support the war or are contracted to their countries' military or national security agency cannot take part.
These recommendations, however, do not include the Paris 2024 Olympics and the potential participation of Russia and Belarus, Bach said.
"The IOC will take this decision at the appropriate time, at its full discretion and without being bound by the results of previous Olympic qualification competitions," Bach told the news conference. He did not say when the IOC would take that decision.
"The IOC expressly reserves the right to decide about their participation at the appropriate time," he added.
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