Olympics-Russian athletes say IOC participation plan ‘excessive and discriminatory’

IOC’s Recommendation to Allow Russian and Belarusian Athletes to Compete as Neutrals

The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recommendation to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to international competition as neutrals has sparked controversy. The Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) athletes’ commission has called the recommendation “excessive and discriminatory.”

The IOC had previously sanctioned Russia and Belarus after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. However, last month, the committee recommended that their athletes be allowed to return to international competition as neutrals. The recommendations include that Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete with no flag or anthem, while athletes who support the war or are contracted to military or national security agencies are excluded.

A Dangerous Precedent

The athletes’ commission chaired by former Olympic 800 metres champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy has denounced the recommendations, stating that they are “excessive and discriminatory – by nationality and by passport, by discipline and sport, and by affiliation to certain entities developing sports for decades in most post-Soviet states.”

The commission added, “Today we, athletes, are detained as hostages of political games that divide the international sports community and at the same time sow discord within the Olympic family – dictating the parameters of admission, defining who is eligible to perform and who is not.”

Reintegration of Athletes

Table tennis, pentathlon, fencing, judo, and taekwondo are among the Olympic sports that have readmitted athletes from Russia and Belarus as neutrals. The IOC is to decide separately on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2024 Games at a later date, while Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Games if Russians are allowed to compete there.

Though the Russian athletes’ commission believes the IOC’s recommendations to be excessive, others have argued that they are too lenient. On Tuesday, the British and French sports ministers insisted that Russian and Belarusian athletes must never compete as neutrals, while Ukraine has barred its national sports teams from competing events which include competitors from the two nations.

Former figure skater Oksana Baiul-Farina, Ukraine’s first-ever Olympic champion, told Reuters this month that Russians should be barred from the Olympics.