Will Russian and Belarusian athletes be gradually reintegrated into Olympic competitions? A year and a half before the Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it was considering it, Friday, December 9, without however setting a deadline.
For the time being, these are only avenues debated during the 11e Olympic summit, which brought together in the morning, in Lausanne, the members of the IOC and the representatives of international federations, athletes and national or continental Olympic committees.
The IOC had already said on Wednesday “explore ways” to reinstate the Russians and Belarusians, banned since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, but the Olympic Council of Asia, the OCA, took a further step by proposing Friday to “facilitate their participation” to organized competitions “under his authority”according to olympic summit final statement.
“The reasons no longer exist”
Since the end of February, the Olympic body has been insisting that the banishment of athletes is not a “punishment”since they bear no direct responsibility for the invasion, but a “protective measure” competitions and their own safety, taking “heavy heart” and contrary to the values of universality of sport. However, according to the OCA, “on the Asian continent”where the conflict in Ukraine mobilizes much less than in Europe, “the reasons for these protective measures no longer exist”.
The IOC has not yet decided anything, but the representatives of several international federations have “greeted” OCA’s proposal, considering that it “should no longer be the same solution for all”. The delegates gathered in Lausanne, on the other hand, confirmed the maintenance of the “penalties” taken against the Russian and Belarusian authorities for having violated the Olympic truce, which prohibit any international competition on their soil and the presence of their flags as their anthems within the framework of the competitions.