Russian ‘neutral’ Olympic athletes breached rules on Ukraine war, says report

PARIS – Two-thirds of the Russian athletes approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete as supposed neutrals at the 2024 Paris Games have expressed support for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine or have links to the military, according to a new report.

But the IOC and the Games’ French hosts have played down the highly critical report from Global Rights Compliance (GRC), a Hague-based human rights foundation, insisting the proper vetting rules have been followed.

Fifteen Russians and 16 Belarusians have accepted invitations to compete under a neutral banner at the Paris Games, which begin on July 26, according to the IOC.

Athletes from the two countries were banned from world sport following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,

but the IOC has overseen their gradual return under strict conditions.

GRC said in its report that 10 out of the 15 Russians have been found to be in violation of “the principles of participation” of neutral athletes.

“Despite being presented with clear evidence of violations by Global Rights Compliance, the IOC has failed to act in accordance with its own rules,” the group alleged.

“By allowing athletes who support an illegal and brutal invasion, the IOC is effectively demonstrating that a state may violently invade another and still be welcomed on the world’s stage.”

In a statement, the IOC said on July 19 it would not comment on individual cases or the decisions of the review panel.

“It has reviewed the athletes in accordance with the IOC executive board decision and the principles that were established. We have nothing further to add,” it said.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office also defended the selection process.

“The volume announced is extremely low, testifying to the reality of the control system deployed,” a source at the Elysee said, referring to the number of Russian athletes cleared to compete.

“We have every reason to believe that this examination was carried out seriously.”

According to the July 18 report, Russian cyclist Alena Ivanchenko “liked” a social media post in March 2022 that featured a picture of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin with the caption “A truce with the enemy is possible after its destruction”.

Another cyclist, Tamara Dronova, has been accused of breaching two rules, by allegedly having links to national security agencies and pro-war conduct in public, according to the report.

Canoeist Olesia Romasenko is said to be a member of the Central Sports Club of the Army (CSKA), a Russian sports institution subordinate to the defence ministry.

The other Russian athletes mentioned in the report are canoeist Alexey Korovashkov, swimmer Evgenii Somov, trampoline gymnast Anzhela Bladtceva and tennis players Mirra Andreeva, Pavel Kotov, Diana Shnaider and Elena Vesnina.

Vesnina, who was born in Ukraine, “liked” posts about “military feats” of Russian soldiers killing Ukrainians and posts displaying the pro-war “Z” symbol, the report added.

Of the 16 Belarusian athletes, several have also been found in violation of the eligibility rules.

To be invited to the Games, “neutral individual athletes” from Russia and Belarus who achieved good enough results to qualify had to pass a double check.

They were first vetted by the international sports federations and then by the IOC, to ensure they did not actively support the war in Ukraine or have any links with their countries’ armies.

There was no immediate reaction from the Russian and Belarusian Olympic committees.

“If the IOC’s stated aim is to ‘Build a Better World through Sport’, then action must be taken by the IOC to demonstrate that it – and its associated businesses – do more than just play lip service to ethics and human rights for all,” said Wayne Jordash, president of GRC.

The group also said it was alerting the IOC’s corporate partners – including Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Visa, Deloitte, Panasonic and Carrefour – to its findings, adding that “they could be unknowingly complicit in endorsing Russia’s criminal military action”. AFP