- John Coates is unsure of the number of Russian competitors competing in the Paris Games as neutral athletes.
- Neutral competitors will compete in these events without flags, symbols, or national anthems.
- The ROC sent 335 participants to the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021, and they came away with 71 medals.
John Coates, Vice-President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is unsure of the number of Russian competitors competing in the Paris Games as neutral athletes. Due to the sanctions implemented following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, only a select group of Russian and Belarussian athletes are permitted to compete.
The participation of neutral athletes is still controversial; Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo expressed optimism that they would not attend, while Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called December’s decision “shameful.”
2024 Paris Olympics
Competitors who actively support the war in Ukraine or have contracts with the Russian or Belarusian military are unable to compete in individual sports. Neutral competitors will compete in these events without flags, symbols, or national anthems.
The limitations are “illegitimate, unfair, and unacceptable,” according to Moscow, but Russia’s Olympic head, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, has assured that the country’s competitors will not abstain from the Games.
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) sent 335 participants to the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021, and they came away with 71 medals. Seven medals were won by the 101 athletes from Belarus.
Since then, the IOC has suspended the ROC for acknowledging regional Olympic Councils in areas that it had acquired from Ukraine. When the decision on neutral athletes was made in December, out of the 4,600 athletes who had qualified for the Games, three were citizens of Belarus, and eight were Russians.
In contrast to other sports, including World Swimming and the International Tennis Federation, which will permit Russians and Belarussians to compete subject to IOC regulations, equestrian sports have declared they will not permit any competitors from the two nations to compete.
