by Absent countries from the Olympics is nothing new with many being sidelined for political reasons and others boycotting the Games for reasons of protest.
The Paris Games will take place this summer from July 26 to August 11 and the issue of Russia and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in the Olympics has provoked many reactions.
Is Russia banned from the Olympics?
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, saying it violated the Olympic ceasefire and barred athletes from both Russia and Belarus from competing.
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is currently still suspended from the IOC after an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was dismissed last year.
CAS found that the initial decision of the IOC’s executive board did not violate the “principles of legality, equality, predictability or proportionality”.
The IOC suspended the ROC on October 12 last year, after the ROC unilaterally decided on October 5 to include regional sports organizations under the authority of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee as members. These regional organizations were within territories annexed by the Russian military amid its invasion of Ukraine.
But will Russian (and Belarusian) athletes still compete in Paris?
Yes, but with caveats. CAS’ decision to uphold the ROC’s suspension will not affect the ability of individual Russian athletes to compete as neutrals at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, provided they meet the eligibility criteria imposed by the IOC.
A path has been created that gives sports individual jurisdiction over whether Russian athletes can compete as neutrals, subject to conditions such as having no direct ties to the military or being active supporters of the war.
Athletics, which is the biggest Olympic sport, chose to completely ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the start of the invasion in February 2022, although other sports such as swimming accepted their participation as neutral.
The inclusion of neutral athletes remains a controversial issue and Ukraine has criticized the decision as “disgraceful”. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously said that it was “clear that any neutral flag of Russian athletes is stained with blood.”
The ROC has said it will not boycott the Games despite Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo admitting she would prefer Russian and Belarusian athletes not to compete.
Has Russia been banned before?
Yes, but previously it was due to widespread doping violations. Paris is the fifth straight Olympics – summer and winter – where Russia and its athletes have faced calls for a ban, since the steroid-tainted Games in Sochi in 2014.
For the 2018 Winter Olympics, individual Russian athletes were allowed to compete neutrally under the Olympic Flag and anthem as ‘Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR)’, with the ROC suspended by the IOC.
The ROC was reinstated before 2020 but sanctions remained, and Russian individual athletes for both the 2020 Summer Games and the 2022 Winter Games competed under the banner of the ‘Russian Olympic Committee’ and the acronym ‘ROC’.
There were 335 participants in Tokyo under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). Those athletes won 71 medals – more than Team GB and only behind the United States and China.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the IOC banned Russia and Belarus and in March 2023, the name AIN was introduced for Russian and Belarusian athletes.
What does AIN mean?
AIN stands for Athlète Individuel Neutre, the French name for an individual neutral athlete with both the acronym and the IOC country code. The delegation is prohibited from using the neutral Olympic flag or anthem. They are also banned from parading in the opening ceremony.
Will the flag of Russia and Belarus be used at the Olympics?
In short, no. Neutral athletes will only compete in individual sports this summer without emblems, flags or national anthems.
The AIN flag shows the circular AIN emblem in white on a black background.
So what song will be played if athletes from Russia or Belarus win the gold?
The IOC has also produced a stand-alone song, without any lyrics, which will be performed for any Russian or Belarusian gold medalists in France this summer.
How many Russian athletes are expected to compete in Paris?
Far fewer Russian athletes are expected in Paris this summer than in previous Games in Tokyo. The IOC expects around 40 individual neutral athletes from Russia to compete in Paris. There will be no representation in team sports.
What about Belarus?
The number of Belarusian athletes is expected to be even smaller, at around 20.
