PARIS.- He COI approved 14 athletes from Russia and 11 Belarusians with neutral status to compete in the Olympic Games of Paris, in a first list for sports published on Saturday.
Five, excluding tennis, swimming and judo, were evaluated by an International Olympic Committee panel that judged whether the athletes had expressed support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine or were near sports clubs linked to the army or state security services. .
It is not yet certain how many Russian athletes will compete in the Olympic Games, but they will not participate in the athletes’ opening ceremony parade.
Russia and Belarus maintain a ban on team sports at the Paris Olympics due to the war in Ukraine.
Individual athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports have been allowed to compete as neutrals in qualifying events in most other sports, and then apply for entry to the Olympics.
Ukrainian request:
Ukrainian athletes have urged the IOC and sports leaders to impose a blanket ban on all Russians. In athletics, both FIFA and UEFA excluded Russian teams from international matches a few days after the invasion that began in February 2022.
The vetting process for neutral status goes first through the sport’s governing bodies and then through the IOC panel before appeals are possible at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Some conditions for Individual Neutral Athletes will be to compete without the Russian flag, with uniforms that are not their red, white and blue colors, the Russian anthem will not be played and the medals they win must not be included in any table.
Source: AP
