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In a political shift Thursday, the International Olympic Committee said athletes from Belarus should once again compete with their full national identity and not be vetted for neutral status, even as the war in Ukraine continues.
Though the non-binding advice to sports governing bodies does not yet apply also to Russia, it seemed to point toward being closer to ending Russia’s isolation in Olympic circles during its war on Ukraine as the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games approaches.
Athletes from Russia and its military ally Belarus had to be approved as neutrals who did not support the war for individual events at the 2024 Paris Olympics and February’s Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. The countries were barred from all team sports at the Olympics.
“The IOC reaffirms that athletes’ participation in international competition should not be limited by the actions of their governments, including involvement in a war or conflict,” the Olympic body said from Geneva.
The IOC noted the qualification period “starts this summer” for Los Angeles, where more than 200 national Olympic teams are set to compete for more than 350 medal events on the program.
The updated Olympic position more than four years into the war on Ukraine also comes after repeated calls from critics of Israel for sporting sanctions to be applied because of the conflict in Gaza.
The IOC, under president Kirsty Coventry and her predecessor Thomas Bach, resisted those requests, and on Thursday cited its task to “navigate the ever-increasing complex realities and consequences of the current geopolitical context.”
IOC awaits anti-doping investigation
One barrier to Russian athletes’ full return is an ongoing World Anti-Doping Agency investigation into recent reports, including by the New York Times, implicating Russian anti-doping agency official Veronika Loginova.
The IOC said its executive board noted “with concern the recent information” being looked at by WADA, without naming Loginova.
The Russian Olympic Committee has been suspended by the IOC since October 2023 for incorporating regional sports bodies in illegally occupied eastern Ukraine.
“Whilst the ROC has held constructive exchanges with the IOC on its suspension,” the IOC said, “it remains suspended while the IOC Legal Affairs Commission continues to review the matter.”
Coventry told reporters at an online news conference there is no set timetable to complete the legal review.
The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) issued its stance against the participation of athletes from Russia & Belarus at Milano Cortina 2026. Karen O’Neill, CPC CEO, discusses how the decision to allow participation was ultimately reached despite CPC opposition.
Pushback from sports bodies
Track and field’s World Athletics excluded athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus out of its international events within days of the war starting. The IOC’s move Thursday will not change that.
“Our council has made a clear decision that when there is tangible movement towards peace negotiations it can begin to review its decisions,” the Monaco-based track body said.
Sports officials in northern European and the Baltic countries have taken strong positions against Russia and Belarus since 2022, and the Swedish sports confederation on Thursday called the IOC’s advice “deeply unfortunate.”
Neutral athletes at Olympics
A total of 32 neutral athletes competed in Paris, combining to win five medals including one gold in trampoline by Ivan Litvinovich of Belarus. One silver medal was won by the 20 neutral athletes in Milan and Cortina.
At the previous Olympic editions, a Russian team of 335 athletes went to the Tokyo Summer Games held in 2021 and 209 went to the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. Belarus sent 101 and 26, respectively.
A Belarus team should now expect to regain privileges at the 2028 Olympics — march under a national flag in the opening and closing ceremonies, wear uniforms in national colors, and hear the anthem played for gold medalists.
Doping case for Belarusian medallist
The IOC announced its Belarus news hours after a positive doping test was revealed for one of the country’s four medalists at the Paris Olympics.
Weightlifter Yauheni Tsikhantsou, who took bronze in the men’s 102-kilogram class in Paris, is not suspended while his case is prosecuted by the International Testing Agency. Growth hormone was found in a sample Tsikhantsou gave in March, the ITA said Thursday.
2030 Winter Games update
The IOC board chaired by Coventry gave updates on the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps and picking a host for the 2030 Youth Olympic Games.
An ongoing review of the Winter Games program will be confirmed in June but cannot include in France any sports not played on snow and ice, Coventry said. There has been speculation about adding new sports or boosting the winter program with indoor sports from the Summer Games.
The youth hosting contest was moving to a vote next month but stalled Thursday because of IOC uncertainty about a strategy for what it aimed to achieve, Coventry said, noting “very disjointed” views worldwide.
The bidders are Asuncion, Paraguay; Bangkok, Thailand; and Santiago, Chile.
