Most members of the sports community lamented Ukraine’s attempts to put pressure on them over the possible admission of athletes from Russia to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. This was announced on Thursday, February 9, by the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Vadim Gutzeit, Bach indicated that the participation of neutral athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in the Olympic Games “was not even specifically discussed.”
“Therefore, your letter to colleagues from the national Olympic committees, international federations, members of the IOC and future organizers of the Olympic Games, putting pressure on them in an attempt to publicly influence their decision-making, was perceived by the vast majority of them at least extremely regrettable,” the head IOC agency Reuters.
Bach added that each National Olympic Committee is bound by the principles of the Olympic Charter.
Gutzeit stated that the NOC of Ukraine opposes the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions while the special military operation (SVO) continues, earlier on February 3.
Prior to that, on January 27, IOC President Bach said that athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus could participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics under a neutral flag. He stressed that the boycott of Ukraine, which was threatened by the Minister of Youth and Sports Vadym Gutzeit, does not correspond to the committee’s mission.
On February 5, it became known that the Ministers of Sports of 40 countries of the world on February 10 will adopt a joint statement on the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
A day earlier, it was reported that the IOC had not yet made a decision about the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in the Olympic Games in 2024 and at the moment does not undertake to assess the likelihood that this will happen.
At the same time, the official representative of the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre, stressed that if participants from the Russian Federation and Belarus are admitted to international competitions, the use of official state flags, coats of arms and anthems should continue to be prohibited.
Meanwhile, the organizers of the Paris Olympics said they would follow the IOC’s decisions regarding the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international events. They also noted that they wish “the competitions to be held in the spirit of peace and respect for the values of brotherhood and solidarity.”
On February 28, 2022, the IOC recommended that international sports federations prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international competitions due to the situation around the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
The XXXIII Summer Olympic Games will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
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