The IOC is working on the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions

The IOC is working on the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions

The IOC is working on the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions under the conditions of neutrality. He writes about it with reference to Xinhua.

“Now we are making every effort to fulfill the proposal of the Olympic movement to return athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports to international competitions.

We cooperate very closely with the international federations that are currently responsible for holding their competitions, and we very much hope that this mission can be fulfilled under the conditions that have been established that athletes from these two countries must participate in a neutral status so that we could really unite the whole world before the Olympic Games in Paris,” said President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach.

Bach said that the IOC is working to help athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports return to international sports competitions.

At the meeting of the IOC Executive Committee, Bach noted that a decision on whether Russian and Belarusian athletes can participate in the Olympic Games in Paris next year will be made “at the appropriate time.”

The president of the IOC said that they still need time to see how the recommendations are accepted and how they are respected. One of the recommendations mentioned by Bach provides that athletes from these two countries could participate in the Olympics in Paris with a neutral status.

He stated that there is a risk of politicization of the decision, and noted that “any boycott will only punish their own athletes.”

“You know the statements of governments that want to decide who can participate in the Olympics, international sports competitions, and who cannot. We must be very firm so that these decisions are taken by responsible sports organizations,” Bach said.

Eight Russian judokas have been suspended from participating in the world championships.

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