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07/07 10:04 CDT IOC ending neutral status vetting for Russian athletes ahead of
2028 LA Olympics
IOC ending neutral status vetting for Russian athletes ahead of 2028 LA Olympics
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) --- The IOC advised Olympic sports bodies on Tuesday
to end a three-year program vetting Russians for neutral status ahead of
qualifying events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The move was expected since the International Olympic Committee advised two
months ago that athletes from Belarus, Russia's military ally in the full
military invasion of Ukraine, should be allowed again to compete with their
full national identity.
"The IOC stands in solidarity with the Olympic community of Ukraine, which the
Olympic movement has supported since the beginning of the war, and will
continue to do so," the Olympic body said in a statement after a meeting of its
executive board.
The IOC eased entry requirements to its own events for Russian athletes and
teams while provisionally lifting its suspension since October 2023 of the
Russian Olympic Committee.
The terms of that suspension --- imposed when the Russian Olympic body
incorporated regional sports councils from occupied regions of Ukraine --- no
longer applied, the IOC said.
Just 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics as
approved neutrals, and combined to win five medals. The Russian team had more
than 300 athletes at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and won 71 medals.
The IOC did not yet approve letting Russian athletes and teams compete with
their flag and anthem. That decision will come "at an appropriate time," it
said.
The next Olympic competition is the 2026 Youth Summer Games in Dakar, Senegal
opening Oct. 31.
The IOC said to "address the lack of confidence in the global sporting
community relating to the return of Russian athletes to international
competition," those athletes must give multiple doping controls and be part of
a recognized testing program.
The IOC said it will continue to "not organize IOC events in Russia or invite
Russian government or state officials to its events."
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
