IOC decides:

Russians and Belarusians not at Olympic opening ceremony!

Athletes from Russia will not be allowed to take part in the athletes' parade at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris! This decision was made by the head of the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday following consultations in Lausanne. Athletes from Belarus, which is a close ally of Russia, will also not be allowed to take part in the planned spectacle on the Seine at the opening of the Summer Games on July 26 due to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. 

However, athletes from both countries will be given the chance to attend the ceremony, the IOC announced. "We will make sure that they can enjoy the experience," said the responsible IOC Director James Macleod. A decision on participation in the closing ceremony on August 11 will be made at a later date. At the beginning of the month, the organizers of the Paralympics, which will also take place in Paris shortly after the Olympic Games, made a similar decision. At both the Olympics and the games for disabled athletes, competitors from Russia and Belarus are only allowed to take part in the competitions under certain conditions.

(Bild: AP/Associated Press)

Teams are completely excluded
Participants from these countries must compete under a neutral flag. Their anthems may not be played, and they are prohibited from wearing and displaying national symbols at the Olympic venues. Teams are completely excluded, only individual athletes are allowed. The medals won by Russians and Belarusians will not be listed in the medal table.

In addition, the relevant world federations and the IOC are to carry out a multi-stage verification process to ensure that the athletes from Russia and Belarus who are eligible to compete have no links to the army or security services. Furthermore, they must not have actively supported the war in Ukraine. A three-member IOC examination commission is to guarantee compliance with these conditions. It consists of IOC Vice President Nicole Hoevertsz (Aruba), former basketball pro Pau Gasol (Spain) as representative of the Ethics Commission and table tennis player Ryu Seung-min (South Korea) as athlete representative. They will decide after the sports qualification whether Russian and Belarusian athletes will receive an invitation to the Games. After that, the behavior of these athletes will continue to be regularly reviewed by the commission until their return from Paris.

"Unlawful, unfair and unacceptable!"
Russia considers the conditions to be "unlawful, unfair and unacceptable", as Stanislav Posdnyakov, head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), said. However, the Russians recently ruled out a boycott of the Olympics. The ROC itself was suspended by the IOC for including the four annexed Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia. Russian politicians and top sports officials are to be denied access to the Olympic competitions.

Opponents of allowing Russia's athletes to compete, above all Ukraine, fear propaganda campaigns at the Summer Games. The IOC recently pointed out that only a significantly smaller number of Russian athletes will be taking part in Paris than at previous Olympic Games due to the conditions of participation. Twelve Russians and seven Belarusians are currently qualified for the Olympics. A number of between 36 and 54 Russians and 22 and 28 Belarusians is expected. A total of 330 Russian athletes took part in the Tokyo 2021 Games, with 104 from Belarus.