MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/. Any scenario involving a boycott of the 2024 Summer Games in Paris by the Russian Olympic team is out of the question, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Stanislav Pozdnyakov said on Thursday.
The French capital is scheduled to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games between July 26 and August 11, 2024.
"Holding a boycott is a path to nowhere," Pozdnyakov said. "The boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics [in the Soviet Union] yielded no dividends to anyone. It did not stop either the USSR or the United States from pursuing their respective policies."
"One of those who suffered the most was the incumbent president of the International Olympic Committee [IOC], Thomas Bach, who was the reigning world champion [in fencing] at that time but was unable to compete in the [1980] Games," the ROC chief stated.
"The president of the Japanese Olympic Committee [JOC], Yasuhiro Yamashita, had never lost a single [judo] contest throughout his career [to that point], but he was then forced to [sit it out and just] watch the competitions [in 1980] from the spectators’ stands. He came to Moscow at that time, but was unable to compete," Pozdnyakov said.
"We live in a civilized, democratic country. Everyone is entitled to possess freedom to the extent that he or she deems necessary. A boycott is out of the question as we [the Russian Olympic athletes] are not invited [to the Paris Games] and, so, there is nothing to boycott," he stated. "This is a personal choice as we are talking about mature athletes capable of making their own decisions and bearing personal responsibility [for their actions]. I’m sure that the Russian Olympic community has the sufficient level of maturity."
IOC’s sanctions against Russia, Belarus
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.
There is still no final clear-cut decision on behalf of the IOC regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The French capital of Paris is scheduled to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games between July 26 and August 11, 2024.