The boss of the Russian Olympic Committee has asked that Russian athletes be reinstated for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Will there be Russian athletes at the Paris Olympic Games, which begin in 542 days? For the moment, no one knows! On Tuesday, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee once again called for the reinstatement of athletes from his country, suspended following the invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago. “Russians must participate under exactly the same conditions as all other athletes. All additional conditions and criteria are not welcome, especially those that have a political component that is absolutely unacceptable to the Olympic Movement. The Olympic Charter stipulates that all athletes must participate on an equal footing,” said Stanislav Pozdniakov, quoted by Russian press agencies.
The IOC opened the door
The subject of the integration of Russian (and Belarusian) athletes in the Olympic Games has become major in recent weeks. Last week, the International Olympic Committee had indicated that it was in favor of their presence in Paris under a neutral banner (as during the Tokyo Olympics, even if it was a suspension due to state doping). “No athlete should be banned from competition solely on the basis of their passport,” the IOC said in particular. And the next day, the two countries were invited to participate in the Asian Games (in China this fall), which are one of the steps to winning an Olympic ticket in different sports, such as boxing or archery. Quickly after this announcement, Ukraine made it known that it was ready to boycott the Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes took part. It is therefore difficult to find the perfect solution… “Certainly, the Olympic Games will take place at a time of great geopolitical tension. However, I hope that the war in Ukraine will be over when we launch the Paris Games, ”acknowledged the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo last week. That’s all you can wish for…
