Moscow/s athletes may be permitted to compete as neutrals at Paris 2024
Ukraine president Vladimir Zelensky has called on his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
There have been significant restrictions imposed upon Russian sports since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued sanctions last year shortly after the onset of the military operation in Ukraine.
However, the IOC has appeared to be considering a return to the international sporting fold of athletes from both countries in Asia-based qualification events for Paris 2024, provided that they compete as neutrals and without national symbols such as flags and anthems.
Zelensky held discussions with IOC president Thomas Bach in December in which he said he was “upset” at the potential Olympic inclusions of Russian and Belarusian athletes – and he echoed this stance in a discussion with the French leader.
“I particularly emphasized that athletes from Russia should have no place at the Olympic Games in Paris,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
//www.instagram.com/p/CaJ98Odrcm0
Both Bach and Macron have stated recently that a path needs to be found which respects an athlete’s right to compete regardless of the political stances of their government, with Bach saying last month that “we need to explore ways to overcome this dilemma with regard to athletes’ participation and come back to the sporting merits, and not to political interference.”