MOSCOW — The International Olympic Committee (IOC) “provisionally” lifted its suspension of Russia on Tuesday — a decision laced with controversy amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine that nonetheless opens a path for Russian athletes to compete as full-fledged participants in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and beyond.
The decision effectively overturns the IOC’s decade-long ban on Russian athletes from international sport — the price of a state-sponsored doping scandal dating back to the Russian-hosted Sochi Games of 2014 as well as the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor eight years later.
In doing so, the IOC argued Russia had addressed the key legal issue at the heart of the ban: Russia’s Olympic Committee had distanced itself from affiliate sports chapters in four occupied territories of Ukraine that Russia illegally claimed to annex in 2022.
While the IOC characterized its decision as provisional, it didn’t clarify potential penalties for Russia’s noncompliance. Olympic officials said in a statement that they will continue to monitor the situation in Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia and will “take any further measures as deemed necessary.”
More fundamentally, the IOC seemed to acknowledge the difficulty of maintaining a ban on athletes over Russia’s actions in Ukraine at a moment when war and conflict are roiling the globe.
“The IOC recognises that an athlete’s participation in international competition should not be limited by the involvement of their government in a war or conflict,” the IOC statement said, noting “the complex realities and consequences of the current geopolitical context.”
“Amidst growing global instability and conflict, the IOC must uphold its mission to preserve a values-based and truly global sporting platform that provides hope to the world.”
In from the Olympic wilderness?
In Moscow, Russian officials celebrated the IOC ruling as justice overdue.
“It’s an important step towards returning the lawful rights of our athletes to participate in international competition,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday in his daily briefing with reporters.
In reality, Russian athletes have been competing in international events since the ban came into effect — as “neutral athletes” at recent Olympic Games in select individual sports, with no Russian teams allowed.
Russia’s tricolor flag and national anthem have also been banned from international competitions — a decision the IOC statement said would remain in place until “the appropriate time.”
And there were other signs it could be some time before Russia is truly back as an Olympic powerhouse: the IOC left it up to the myriad international sporting federations — everything from track and field to fencing and hockey — to decide the merits of lifting Russia’s ban on their own.
That raises the prospect of sporting federations allowing Russian athletes to compete in some Olympic sports while bans or restrictions remain in others.
Still, Russia’s Minister of Sport, Mikhail Degtyaryov, called the IOC ruling a “green light” to sporting federations to approve Russia’s return to “the Olympic family.”
“A lot of work remains ahead to implement the IOC decision among international organizations. However the IOC is giving a clear signal: the Olympic movement should remain outside of politics,” Degtyaryov said in a statement.
Ukraine cries foul
The IOC insisted its position against Russia’s invasion of its neighbor remains “unchanged.” Indeed, Russian government officials are still banned from attending Olympic events. Due to IOC policy, Russia similarly remains unwelcome as a host for international sporting events. The IOC said it still “stands in solidarity” with Ukrainian athletes.
Yet in a statement, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called the IOC decision to lift the blanket ban on Russian participation a “troubling signal for the entire international community” — and urged sporting federations to uphold the ban so long as Russia’s “unprovoked war” continues.
The IOC ruling came down just as Kyiv held vigil for dozens killed when Russian missiles struck several city apartment buildings earlier in the week.
“To have this news the same day we have a day of mourning — it’s wild, because you understand the scale of war is not getting any smaller,” says Vladyslav Heraskevych.
The Ukrainian skeleton sled racer was disqualified from this year’s Milan Cortina Games in Italy for wearing a helmet that displayed images of Ukrainian athletes killed by Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
“It’s the wrong decision and a shameful decision,” Heraskevych says of Tuesday’s ruling.
Concerns over doping
The IOC recommendation also took pains to address concerns over Russian doping, given the fallout of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, which saw Russian dominance in the medal count ultimately unravel amid evidence of a state-sponsored doping scheme.
A Russian doping scandal involving star figure skater Kamila Valieva also marred the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
The IOC statement announcing the lifting of Russia’s ban said Russian athletes would be tested “multiple times” — and be part of a national anti-doping program “including risk assessment, test distribution plan and results management” to be “delegated” to the International Testing Agency before receiving approval to compete.
But even as Russia’s RUSADA anti-doping agency has taken steps to clean up Russian sport, Kremlin officials have always dismissed the doping charges as groundless.
Travis Tygart, of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, warned that with Russia’s return, the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics risk a repeat of Sochi and other medals fiascos — with deserving athletes waiting years to be awarded medals ultimately stripped from Russian cheats.
“Until we can have some proof that that’s not going to happen, it’s really hard to get your head around them coming back carte blanche to competition,” said Tygart.
Brian Mann reported from New York and Polina Lytvynova reported from Kyiv.
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