IOC excludes Russian, Belarusian athletes from Paris Olympics opening ceremony
GENEVA (AP) — Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to take part in the traditional parade at the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics, the IOC said Tuesday.
The opening ceremony on July 26 will see thousands of athletes travel on boats down the River Seine for several miles toward the Eiffel Tower, instead of the normal parade of teams inside a stadium.
The International Olympic Committee said athletes from Russia and Belarus who are approved to compete at the Olympics as neutrals will have a chance only “to experience the event” — likely watching from near the river.
The IOC decision follows the International Paralympic Committee which two weeks ago announced a ban for its Paris opening ceremony on Aug. 28.
Russia and Belarus are barred from team sports at the Olympics because of the war in Ukraine and the IOC has laid out a two-step vetting procedure for individual athletes from those countries to be granted neutral status. Those athletes must first be approved by the governing body of their individual sport and then by an IOC-appointed review panel.
Neutral athletes must not have publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine, or be affiliated with military or state security agencies.
The IOC said Tuesday it expects about 36 neutral athletes with Russian passports and 22 with Belarusian passports to qualify for the Paris Games.
A decision on whether those athletes will be allowed to take part in the Aug. 11 closing ceremony will be taken “at a later stage,” the IOC said.
Any medals won by neutral athletes will not be counted as a collective group in the overall medals table.
The IOC also revealed details of the replacement flag in jade green that will be used for neutral athletes at medal ceremonies, where a specially written anthem without lyrics will be played.
In another source of tension between Olympic leaders and Russian sport, the IOC decided Tuesday that the International Boxing Association led by Kremlin-backed Umar Kremlev will not be involved in organizing bouts for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The IOC also threatened to remove boxing from the Los Angeles program in what seemed like a challenge to national federations worldwide to distance themselves from the IBA and Kremlev.
The IOC withdrew its recognition of the IBA last year and the body was not allowed to take part in organizing boxing at the previous Tokyo Olympics or in Paris.