MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. /TASS/. Former president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach says one of the achievements during his presidency was the participation of athletes from conflicting countries at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, the IOC press office cited him as saying in a statement on Tuesday.
On June 23, Bach officially stepped down from his post and was replaced by two-time Olympic Champion Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe.
"I was President at a time when the Olympic Movement and the world faced many challenges – from doping, the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts and wars, to name just a few," Bach said. "We ensured that a whole generation of athletes did not get their Olympic dream destroyed by the pandemic."
"The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 had to be rescheduled, but we were able to make them happen, against a lot of resistance from many. They were safe for everyone. The Games became a signal of hope for the entire world," he continued.
"At the Olympic Games Paris 2024, athletes from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team competed fiercely against each other," Bach noted. "At the same time, they lived peacefully together in the Olympic Village.
"Despite many of their countries being at war, the athletes respected one another. The athletes showed us how our world could be - if we all lived in the Olympic spirit of peaceful coexistence. They created a culture of peace," according to the IOC ex-president.
"The athletes embraced their role as ambassadors of peace. In Paris, they came together to issue a moving call for peace. This call included athletes from the NOCs of Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine, Yemen, and many others whose countries are currently divided by war and conflict."
"They reminded all of us that peace is not just an idealistic dream. Peace can be a lived reality when people come together in respect and solidarity," Bach added.
Fifteen athletes from Russia participated in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in France under a neutral status.
IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to prohibit athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating 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 allowing individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports tournaments, but only under specific 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 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.