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2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris

Russian sports chief Degtyarev cheers on national athletes at 2024 Olympics in Paris

"The career of a top-level athlete is very fleeting, and they should not have to suffer because of the actions of the International Olympic Committee," Mikhail Degtyarev pointed out

MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev always roots for his country’s athletes, no matter the situation, including at the 2024 Summer Olympics in France, the minister said in an interview with TASS.

"As a sports fan I always root for our athletes," he said. "I have repeatedly stated that I don’t agree with the criticism of those of our athletes, who embarked to Paris to participate [in the 2024 Olympics] under a neutral status. They are still our athletes."

"The career of a top-level athlete is very fleeting, and they should not have to suffer because of the actions of the International Olympic Committee. So I always root for our athletes everywhere and advise everyone else to do the same," he added.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed a team of 15 Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics as neutrals.

The Russian team’s lineup includes tennis players Daniil Medvedev, Pavel Kotov, Roman Safiullin, Yekaterina Alexandrova, Mirra Andreeva, Diana Shnider, Yelena Vesnina; canoeists Zakhar Petrov, Alexey Korovashkov, Olesya Romasenko; swimmer Yevgeny Somov; cyclists Tamara Dronova, Alyona Ivanchenko, Gleb Syritsa; and Anzhela Bladtseva, who competes in trampoline event.

IOC’s regulations against Russia

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board convened for a meeting at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, on March 19-20 and following the opening day it decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in the Parade of Athletes and also exclude them from the 2024 Olympics overall medal standings.

The IOC, however, ruled that Russian athletes, cleared to participate in the upcoming Olympics, would not have to sign anything denouncing their country’s special military operation in Ukraine.

On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.

The Swiss-based CAS registered on November 6, 2023 an appeal from the ROC against the IOC’s decision on the Russian governing Olympic body’s suspension.

The suspension means that the ROC cannot act as a national Olympic committee or receive financing from the Olympic movement. The IOC however reserved the right to clear Russian athletes to take part in the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 as neutrals. Later, IOC President Thomas Bach said that Russian athletes should have no affiliation with the ROC if they want to compete at the Olympic Games.

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