Russia to Participate in LA Olympics as IOC Lifts Suspension

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has lifted the suspension imposed on Russia following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

As a result, Russian athletes will be able to compete normally starting from the qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

The IOC announced that it is "provisionally lifting" the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), stating that it took into account that the "ROC no longer has any sports organizations under its authority in the regions of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine."

Russia was suspended by the IOC in October 2023 for unilaterally incorporating regional Olympic committees in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia—territories occupied during the war—into its own organization.

Consequently, Russian athletes participated in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics earlier this year as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) after undergoing separate vetting, and they were barred from competing in team events.

The IOC stated that it would decide at an appropriate time whether to allow the use of the national flag, anthem, colors, and other identifiers representing Russia.

The IOC also set a condition that all Russian athletes returning to international competition must undergo multiple doping tests.

Even before the war in Ukraine, Russia had been sanctioned by the IOC over allegations of state-sponsored doping manipulation.

Because of this, Russia competed under names such as Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) from the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics through the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The IOC had also sanctioned Belarus for aiding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but it lifted all those sanctions this past May.

Russia, a sports powerhouse, sent over 300 athletes to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, winning 71 medals and placing 5th overall.

However, for the Paris Olympics, a total of 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus competed as neutral athletes, winning 5 medals.

Some international sports federations, including World Aquatics, have recently lifted the bans on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

The IOC stated, "We have taken a very clear position against the invasion (of Ukraine by Russia) and have strongly condemned it. This position remains unchanged," adding, "In times of increasing instability and division across the world, we remain committed to promoting peace between people and nations through sport."

Kirsty Coventry, an Olympic gold medalist swimmer from Zimbabwe and an IOC member, said, "We do not want to hold athletes responsible for the actions of their government," adding, "If I had to pay the price when my country was going through a crisis and was sanctioned, I would not be here today."

Mikhail Degtyarev, the Russian Minister of Sport, welcomed the decision, saying, "The fact that our country has returned to the Olympic family is a green light for international sports federations to allow our athletes to return," and added, "The Olympic movement must be free from politics."

However, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine protested, calling it a "hasty and baseless decision," stating, "Russia continues its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is blatantly violating international law and the fundamental principles of peace and security."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.