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IOC recommendations on return of Russian athletes do not apply to 2024 Paris Olympics

It is reported that some qualification events in several sports have already taken place

TASS, February 2. The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) recommendations for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes only apply to competitions in Asia and do not apply to the Olympic Games, the IOC press service reported on Thursday.

"No decision has been taken on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The topic under discussion is about their participation in international competitions in Asia in the forthcoming summer sport season. In none of the documents published by the IOC will you find a reference to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 for athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport," the statement said.

"Some qualification events in several sports have already taken place. The IOC will not ask IFs to adapt their qualification systems retroactively to allocate additional quota to athletes with a Russian or Belarussian passport that have missed out on qualification opportunities due to the war," the IOC press service added.

On September 14, 2022, UN Human Rights Council rapporteurs Alexandra Xanthaki and Tendayi Achiume addressed to IOC President Thomas Bach an open letter in which they expressed concern about the recommendation to ban Russian and Belarussian athletes from international competitions, saying that the ban was based on nationality raises serious issues of non-discrimination. The IOC then promised to take into account the 'grave concerns' expressed by two UN Human Rights Council rapporteurs.

The IOC recommended at the end of February 2022 that international sports federations ban Russians and Belarussians from competitions following the events in Ukraine. The IOC issued new recommendations on January 25, proposing to allow athletes from these countries to participate in competitions as neutral athletes if they haven’t actively supported the special military operation in Ukraine. Later, President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Stanislav Pozdnyakov noted that the IOC did not require Russian athletes to condemn the special military operation.

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