Just 15 Russian athletes to compete as ‘neutral individuals’ at Paris Olympics

Only 15 Russian athletes are to take part in this year’s Summer Olympic Games in Paris, according to a list of Russian and Belarusian “Individual Neutral Athletes” published on the International Olympic Committee’s website.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Russian athletes from competition on 24 February 2022, following the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, though at the time Russia was still serving a two-year suspension from all international sporting competitions issued after its massive state-sponsored doping programme was revealed in 2019.

Under the IOC’s new rules, certain Russian and Belarusian athletes have been invited to compete as “Individual Neutral Athletes” (AIN) at the Games, though they will be barred from group events and will not be allowed to wear any type of Russian flag or emblem.

The final list of Russian athletes attending the Games includes seven tennis players, three cyclists, three kayakers and canoeists, a swimmer and a trampolinist. Sixteen selected athletes from Belarus have also accepted their invitations to compete subject to the same restrictions.

The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) “until further notice” in October 2023, after the ROC recognised Russian-installed Olympic Councils training athletes in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. In December, the IOC announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes could only compete in the Summer Games as AINs.

“Like all the other athletes, they will also have to sign the updated Conditions of Participation applicable for Paris 2024. This contains a commitment to respect the Olympic Charter, including ‘the peace mission of the Olympic Movement’,” the IOC said in a press release following the December announcement.

This is not the first time that Russian athletes have not been able to represent their country in major sporting competitions. At the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, Russian athletes had to represent the Russian Olympic Committee after the country was sanctioned by the IOC after news of a giant Kremlin-backed doping scandal stunned the sports world.