Russian athletes likely to skip next two editions of Olympic Games, says sports official
"We also believe that the United States would not let their allies hosting us in Paris and Milan, but they can afford anything for themselves," Vladimir Sengleyev pointed out
MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/. Russian athletes are unlikely to be cleared for the 2024 and 2026 Olympic Games in France and Italy respectively, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Director General Vladimir Sengleyev said on Thursday.
"We have been expecting that the situation will unfold this way and we started preparations for the 2028 [Summer] Olympic Games in Los Angeles," he said. "The International Olympic Committee [IOC] has not voiced yet any legal decisions regarding these Games."
"We also believe that the United States would not let their allies hosting us in Paris and Milan, but they can afford anything for themselves," the ROC official noted. "The most vivid example was the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] summit [in San Francisco], which was attended by a delegation from Russia."
"Americans always want to have wins over Russians, we hope for this and we are getting prepared," Sengleyev added.
Following the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Paris will host the Summer Games in 2024, while Los Angeles will host the event in 2028.
The 2024 Summer Olympic Games will be hosted by the French capital of Paris between July 26 and August 11. The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be hosted by Italy’s Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo between February 6 and 22, 2026.
IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee 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.
On July 26, 2023, the IOC extended invitations to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris to 203 National Olympic Committees. Russia and Belarus did not receive invitations. The IOC explained later that there was no deadline regarding the issue of Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation.