Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, confirmed that the committee was considering allowing Russians who “do not support their country’s invasion of Ukraine” to compete at the Olympics.
Last February, the International Olympic Committee directed sports governing bodies to remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from competition.
“We have a dilemma, this war was not started by Russian athletes. But we have seen that some governments no longer want to respect the independence of international sport,” Bach told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
“That’s why we had to take these precautions to stay at least a little bit in the driver’s seat and not lose all independence. That’s why, on the other hand, we also have to consider how we can get everyone back involved.”
Bach said nothing had changed so far, with the current ban on Russian athletes still in place.
However, he stated that the IOC needed to make decisions quickly on them, as the qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics had already begun.
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