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The International Olympic Committee took a big step toward reintegrating Russia and Belarus into world sports Thursday by advising governing bodies to let the countries’ youth teams and athletes compete with their full identity of national flag and anthem.
Athletes have “a fundamental right to access sport across the world, and to compete free from political interference or pressure from governmental organizations,” the IOC said in a statement.
That message in support of athletes will be welcomed in Russia and Israel, whose athletes have faced recent discrimination, and comes less than three years out from the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games that risks facing political crosswinds in the United States.
The updated Olympic strategy gave Russia significant progress in sports politics at a time when Moscow appears to be making no political or military concessions to Ukraine.
The IOC move is separate to the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games where a small group of Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete as neutral individuals who pass vetting for not having publicly supported the war.
The decision came at an Olympic Summit, an annual meeting chaired by IOC president Kirsty Coventry that invites key stakeholders from the Olympic family.
“It was recognized that implementation by the stakeholders will take time,” the IOC said in a statement, adding that each sport’s governing body should decide how to define youth events.
Some sports bodies likely will face resistance from their national member federations, especially in Europe, to the updated IOC advice which repeats that Russia should still not be picked to host international events.
Russian Olympic body still formally suspended
The IOC’s latest move to ease the sporting isolation of Russia can apply to its own Youth Olympic Games which are held next year in Dakar, Senegal, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13. The Russian Olympic body is still formally suspended by the IOC and currently could not compete with its national identity.
“The above principles should apply to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and are recommended for adoption by all governing bodies and international sports event organizers for their own youth events,” the IOC said.
Russian teams have been fully excluded from international soccer, track and field and other sports since the full military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, while Russian and Belarusian athletes in winter sports are now starting to return with neutral status ahead of the Milan Cortina Olympics in February.
A small group of Russian and Belarusian athletes competed as neutrals without their national identity at the Paris Summer Games last year, where those countries were banned from team sports.
A previous attempt to enable Russia’s potential return to youth sports was met with strong pushback by European soccer federations including Ukraine in September 2023.
European soccer body UEFA moved to reintegrate Russian Under-17 teams into its competitions but dropped its policy within weeks amid boycott threats by at least 12 of the 55 member federations.
Though Russian soccer teams have been banned from World Cups and club competitions like the Champions League for four seasons, their national soccer body is not suspended by FIFA or UEFA and its officials have been eligible to stand for elections.
The IOC reminded Thursday that a block should remain on inviting or accrediting government officials from Russia and Belarus to international sports events or meetings.
“With its considerations today,” the IOC said, “the Olympic Summit recognized that athletes, and in particular youth athletes, should not be held accountable for the actions of their governments.”
8 Russian biathletes file claim
Russian athletes and sports bodies are taking legal action to compete in biathlon at February’s Winter Olympics after overturning bans in other sports as the qualification period draws to a close.
The International Biathlon Union said it was informed Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that eight Russian athletes, along with Russia’s national biathlon and Paralympic bodies, had filed a claim against it.
The IBU defended its policy on Russia, saying its members had “strong legal grounds” for a vote to suspend Russia’s national biathlon body and its athletes.
“The IBU also reiterates that the IBU event and competition rules and the IBU constitution do not allow for a neutral-athlete pathway,” it added. “The IBU is confident in its position and will co-operate fully with CAS.”
Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyaryov said the aim of the legal action was to ensure Russians could qualify for the Milan-Cortina Olympics in comments Tuesday to Russian broadcaster Match TV, calling the IBU’s stance “absolutely outrageous.”
Over the last two months, legal rulings have overturned blanket bans on Russians in Winter Olympic sports like skiing, snowboard, luge and biathlon, requiring them to let in vetted athletes as neutrals in line with International Olympic Committee recommendations.
IOC guidelines to sports bodies have kept Russian athletes excluded from team events like hockey and curling in a system enforced for the Paris Summer Games last year. Biathlon is the only remaining sport on the Winter Olympic program which offers medals in individual events but no pathway for Russians to compete as neutrals.
Separately Thursday, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation allowed two more cross-country skiers from Belarus to compete internationally as neutral athletes, a day after giving permission to nine other skiers from Russia and Belarus.
