No Russian or Belarusian athlete will parade during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Here is the decision made public this Tuesday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The body deals a new blow to the Russian government, which it accuses of “politicizing sport”. She points in particular to the “Friendship Games”, a parallel competition organized in Moscow and Yekaterinburg next September. The Kremlin strongly criticizes the firmness of the IOC and tensions are increasing.
How many Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Olympics?
The IOC has put in place several barriers to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. First, they must compete under a neutral flag (under the status of Neutral Individual Athlete), and not have supported the war in Ukraine. Being under contract with the military or a national security agency also prohibits participation in the Games.
📌 Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) with a Russian or Belarusian passport will not participate in the parade of delegations (teams) during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games #Paris2024since they are individual athletes.
🔹But an opportunity will be provided for them…
— Christian Klaue (@ChKlaue) March 19, 2024
For now, there are 12 Russians and 7 Belarusians who have qualified for Paris 2024. According to IOC forecasts, there should be 36 and 22 at the end of the qualifying tournaments. A far cry from the 330 Russian athletes and 104 Belarusians present at the Tokyo Games in 2021. At most, in the event of complete success during qualifying, there could be 55 Russians and 28 Belarusians, but it is unlikely that this figure will be reached.
However, having qualified will not guarantee athletes a ticket to Paris. Before that, they will have to be submitted to the judgment of a review committee. The latter will decide whether they are authorized, as well as their support staff, to participate in the Olympic Games.
What will be the restrictions for Russians and Belarusians?
As the IOC revealed this Tuesday, no Russian or Belarusian athlete will parade during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 26 on the banks of the Seine. They will be distanced from other delegations, as detailed by James MacLeod, the director of Olympic Solidarity: “Athletes who compete under a neutral banner participate as individuals, they do not form a delegation or a team. »
The latter should, however, be invited, in order to “enjoy the experience”. Concerning the closing ceremony of the Games, the IOC has not yet made its decision. But he did confirm that the medals won by athletes under a neutral banner will not be counted in the table. Furthermore, no Belarusian or Russian team will participate in team sports events.
No signs reminiscent of Russia or Belarus will be permitted during the Games. The competitors’ banner will therefore be green, stamped with the letters “AIN”, for Neutral Individual Athlete. In the event of an Olympic title, an anthem without words, composed solely for this occasion, will be broadcast.
Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, qualified Thursday on RMC/BFMTV of “consistent” the decision announced by the IOC to exclude the Russians from the naval parade of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. The Russians who will participate in the Olympics under a neutral banner will not join the parade of national teams, but “they will have the opportunity to experience the event”, indicated the IOC on Tuesday.
But once the parade on the Seine is over, “individual athletes, at Place du Trocadéro when the athletes will mix among themselves, if they wish, will be able to attend this part. But Russia as a State and Nation is excluded from these Games and everyone understands that,” she said. The scenario should be the same for the closing ceremony, at the Stade de France on August 11.
What is the Kremlin’s reaction?
The Russian government strongly criticized all of the measures put in place by the IOC. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, protested on Tuesday: “These decisions show the extent to which the IOC has moved away from its declared principles and has fallen into racism and neo-Nazism. » A justification regularly invoked by the Kremlin to legitimize its actions in Ukraine, without being founded.
The IOC reacted to these accusations this Wednesday. “This goes beyond anything that is acceptable,” said Mark Adams, the spokesperson for the president of the body, Thomas Bach. By linking the president, his nationality and the Holocaust (the Russian government) falls even lower. That’s all we have to say.”
Marid, Dmitri Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, for his part criticized the IOC for considering sanctions for athletes who would participate in the Friendship Games. “It’s athlete intimidation. And this completely undermines the authority of the IOC. » For the Olympic body, this event is only a “cynical attempt” by Russia to exploit athletes “for political propaganda purposes”.
