Olympic Games - Umbrella organizations want permission for Russians to compete at the Olympics
The governing bodies of international sport are urging the IOC to allow Russian athletes to compete at the Summer Games in Paris.
Athletes who have qualified for the 2024 Olympics under a neutral flag should be allowed to take part in Paris, according to the international summer sports federations and the continental federations of the National Olympic Committees. The International Olympic Committee(IOC) should make a quick decision on this issue, the federations demanded at the Olympic Summit in Lausanne.
The IOC leadership around President Thomas Bach once again pointed out that participation for athletes from Russia and Belarus would only be possible under strict conditions. They would only be allowed to take part in Paris as individual athletes under a neutral flag and with no connection to the army or security services. Teams would not be permitted.
Belarus also excluded
The background to this is Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. Belarus supports Russia in this conflict and was therefore also initially excluded from international sports competitions after the start of the war. The IOC had already opened the door to the big sporting stages again for Russia and Belarus in the spring and defined the framework for participation in competitions.
This was also intended to enable the athletes to meet the qualification criteria for the Summer Games. A number of world federations have followed the IOC's guidelines in recent months and allowed Russians and Belarusians to compete again.
In September, the International Paralympic Committee also lifted its complete ban on Russia and allowed Russian disabled athletes to compete at the Paralympics in Paris under a neutral flag. This was already seen as a harbinger of a corresponding decision by the IOC.
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Source: www.stern.de
