IOC issues first list of Russians and Belarusians eligible for Olympics
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Russia cleared 14 athletes to compete as neutrals at the Paris Games, amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
PHOTO: AFP
LAUSANNE – A total of 14 Russian and 11 Belarusian athletes were included on June 15 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on an initial list of “Individual Neutral Athletes” eligible to compete at the Paris Games.
The athletes had to qualify for the Games and pass a double check, first by their international sports federation and then by the IOC, to prove they did not actively support the war in Ukraine or have any links with their countries’ military forces.
The athletes named on June 15 compete across four sports.
Sixteen are wrestlers. The IOC has also approved two weightlifters, three trampoline gymnasts and four road cyclists, including Aleksandr Vlasov, who was fourth in the 2021 Giro d’Italia.
“Our cyclists passed the ‘test’,” Viatcheslav Ekimov, the president of the Russian Cycling Federation, told the country’s state-run Tass news agency.
“The IOC allowed us to the Olympics, although I did not expect a different development.
“As for Vlasov, despite all his past statements, I think he will participate in the Olympics. And with great pleasure,” Ekimov said of the 28-year-old, who has called for an end to the war in Ukraine.
Nikolai Makarov, the president of the Russian Trampoline Federation, told Tass he was not entirely happy.
“The fact that the IOC has decided to admit Angela Bladtseva to the Olympics is very good news,” he said.
“But I don’t understand why another one of our contenders for the only ticket – Yana Lebedeva – is not on the list. I hope that her name will be on the next list.”
The IOC statement also listed taekwondo, but that section included no names.
“It is absolutely true – none of our taekwondo exponents will perform at the Olympic Games in Paris,” Vadim Ivanov, Russia’s taekwondo head coach, told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
Ukraine acting sports minister Matviy Bidnyi welcomed the absence of “outspoken propagandists” from the Games.
“The IOC listened to our evidence, which we, together with the Ukraine national Olympic committee and sports federations, submitted to the IOC...
“We are very grateful for the help of investigative journalists and colleagues from the relevant government agencies in finding and verifying the evidence.”
After initially banning the two countries’ athletes from world sport following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the IOC adjusted its regulations to allow their participation, under a neutral banner, subject to strict conditions and excluding team events.
In March, the IOC said it was expecting 36 Russians and 22 Belarusians at the Paris Games “according to the most probable scenario”, and a “maximum” of 55 and 28 respectively.
Around 330 Russians and about 100 Belarusians took part in the last Games in Tokyo in 2021.
The IOC will update its list as the final qualifying results come in. AFP
