Olympics opening ceremony ban for Russian, Belarusian athletes
OLYMPIC CHIEFS HAVE ANNOUNCED that Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in this summer’s Paris Games under a neutral flag will not be able to take part in the opening ceremony.
Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) from either country will be on site but not included as passengers on the boat parade on the River Seine on July 26, IOC director James Macleod said after an executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne on Mar 19.
Macleod said the scenario mirrored that at the 1992 Barcelona Games for “Independent Olympic Participants” from former Yugoslavia.
Athletes from both Russia and Belarus had already been banned from attending the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, starting in Paris on Aug 28, a little more than two weeks after the Olympics finish.
The IOC in December suspended Russia from the 2024 Games, but gave the green light for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals as long as they do not actively support the war on Ukraine.
Macleod added that there are currently 12 AINs with a Russian passport and seven AINs with a Belarusian passport who have qualified for Paris 2024, out of the 6,000 quota places that have already been awarded.
It is currently projected that under the most likely scenario, 36 AINs with a Russian passport and 22 AINs with a Belarusian passport will qualify for the Olympic Games.
The maximum number, which Macleod said was unlikely to be reached, would be 55 and 28 respectively.
Some 330 Russian athletes and 104 from Belarus took part in the COVID-delayed Tokyo Games.
The IOC said that AINs would have their own flag and a lyric-less anthem and medals won will not be displayed in the overall medal table.
“No flag, anthem, colours or any other identifications whatsoever of Russia or Belarus will be displayed at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in any official venue or any official function,” the IOC said.
“No Russian or Belarusian government or state officials will be invited to or accredited for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.”