To access the Paris Olympics, the athletes concerned, who will compete in road cycling (4), gymnastics/trampoline (3), weightlifting (2) and especially in wrestling (16), had to both cross the obstacle of qualifications and a double control, by the international federations then the IOC, of their absence of active support for the war in Ukraine and of link with the army of their country. On Friday, World Aquatics, the international swimming federation, for its part, granted neutrality status to a Russian swimmer, Yuliya Efimova, and to just under a dozen Belarusian swimmers.
The Olympic organization, after initially banning athletes from the two countries from world sport after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, orchestrated their gradual return, under a neutral banner, under strict conditions and excluding straight away the team events. Last March, the IOC expected 36 Russians and 22 Belarusians at the Paris Games “according to the most likely scenario”, and respectively 55 and 28 “at maximum”, i.e. a significantly sparser presence than during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. : the Russians were 330, while Belarus had qualified 104 athletes.
Deprived of their official colors, the “neutral individual athletes” will also not be able to parade on the Seine during the opening ceremony, and will not appear in the medal table. In March, the IOC awarded them a dedicated flag, stamped with the letters “AIN” on an apple green background, as well as a short composition without words, which will serve as their anthem in the event of an Olympic title.