2023-12-10 15:14:42
Awaited for many months, the decision of the Executive Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) concerning the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes – individual and under neutral banner – in the Paris 2024 Summer Games was recorded this Friday, December 8 2023.
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Sous pressure since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, shortly after the conclusion of the Beijing 2022 Winter Gamesthe IOC had nevertheless clearly indicated that it would retain control of its calendar until the end regarding the possible integration of Russian and Belarusian athletes with a view to the Paris 2024 Summer Games.
Also, last March, the IOC Executive Commission had ajar the door to the Games to the said athletes and this, according to strict conditions listed for the attention of the International Federations.
At that time, the Olympic body had notably affirmed – with a form of lucidity – that:
The Olympic Games [peuvent] prevent wars and conflicts. Nor can they solve all the political and social problems of our world. This is a matter of politics.
On the other hand, the Games can set an example of a world where everyone follows the same rules and respects each other. They encourage us to solve problems that arise by building bridges between people to better understand each other. They can open the way to dialogue and the construction of peace, which neither exclusion nor division allows..
Since then, and despite the countdown to the 2024 Olympic Games, the institution of Lausanne (Switzerland) has been careful not to give any indication as to the formal decision-making surrounding participation in this edition of the Games, contenting itself with recalling its doctrine on the conflict as well as its commitment to Ukrainian athletes.
A way of laying the groundwork for an inevitably sensitive decision.
However, earlier this month, the International Federations took advantage of the platform of the Olympic Summit on December 5, 2023 to request that a decision be taken as soon as possible to allow the examination of candidatures in the light of the linked systems for qualifications in each sport affected by the 2024 Games.
This call then came after the declaration of the Heads of State and Government of the G20 meeting in New York (United States), as well as that of the Non-Aligned Movement bringing together 120 member states of the United Nations (UN). ), all pleading for the widest possible participation of athletes from around the world.
It also came shortly after the adoption – by vote and not by consensus as usual – of the UN resolution on the Olympic Truce for the Paris 2024 Games, a resolution which recently received the support of 118 Member States against with two abstentions (Russian Federation and Syrian Arab Republic) but no opposition.
Visual of the Grand Palais (Credits – Paris 2024 / Mirco-Magliocca)Also, in view of these elements, as well as the consultations which may have been conducted by the IOC with various institutional actors throughout 2023, the IOC Executive Commission decided this Friday, December 8 in favor of the participation of athletes holding a Russian or Belarusian passport according to the criteria set last spring including, in particular, the absence of a flag, anthem, color or any other indication directly linked to Russia and Belarus.
Concretely, the Commission explains that the conditions of admission to the Paris 2024 Games are the same as those which allowed the qualification of the first athletes, knowing that at this stage, 11 athletes have been qualified through the existing systems of the International Federations , i.e. 8 with a Russian passport and 3 with a Belarusian passport.
In detail, qualified athletes are and will be qualified as neutral individual athletes, which excludes in fact the possibility of seeing even the smallest team composed of Russian and Belarusian athletes compete in team sports.
In addition, athletes who have at any time actively supported the war in Ukraine will not be allowed to compete, as will those under contract with the Russian army or the Belarusian army, or with national security agencies. . These points also apply to support staff (coaches, etc.).
Neutral individual athletes must also satisfy – like all athletes – all the requirements in terms of the fight against doping according to the rules laid down in each sport by the International Federations.
Finally, the IOC Executive Commission recalls that the sanctions which have been taken to date against government officials will remain applicable which, beyond the aforementioned ban on flags, anthems, colors or indication relating to Russia or Belarus, prevents the issuance of any invitation or accreditation for representatives of the Russian and Belarusian States.
With this last criterion, the IOC explicitly wants to demonstrate that sanctions must apply to the authorities but not against the athletes who, in the event that they respect all the established conditions, will be present during the qualifying events and, in fineduring the Paris 2024 Games.
Intervention by IOC President, Thomas Bach, during the Executive Commission meeting, Wednesday November 29, 2023 in Paris, France (Credits – IOC / Greg Martin)The IOC decision comes a little more than two months after the green light from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) which had already spoken out in favor of integrating Russian and Belarusian competitors under strict conditions reminiscent of those of the IOC.
As if to justify this expected position, the Executive Commission nevertheless made a point of mentioning that 60 Ukrainian athletes have so far successfully passed the qualifying stage, in comparison to the 11 Russian and Belarusian athletes qualified at this stage. day.
In the same way, the members of the Olympic body recalled the IOC’s commitment to Ukraine, in particular through the Solidarity Fund for the National Olympic Committee in the amount of 7.5 million dollars et via the support provided to 3,000 athletes and members of the Ukrainian Olympic community with the assistance of the International Federations and National Olympic Committees.
On a tightrope, the IOC did not expect to obtain positive comments. In any case, he has not received any from Ukraine or Russia, both parties having had many times until now the opportunity to target Olympic policy which, logically, could not fully satisfy the actors in a conflict likely to last well beyond 2024.
As proof, the Ukrainian Minister of Sports, Matvi Bidny, was quick to point out a decision “irresponsible”while his Russian counterpart, Oleg Matytsin, denounced a choice “unacceptable”.
Although both parties can reserve the right not to send athletes to the Paris Games, it appears highly unlikely to consider a boycott today, international competitions having already reopened the doors to Russian and Belarusian athletes with the presence of Ukrainians.
It also appears unlikely that the French officials on the front line of the preparations – including the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo – will begin to comment virulently on a decision taken by the Olympic institution which, it should be remembered, only entrust Paris 2024 with the responsibility of organizing its flagship event, which it owns.
Faced with the criticism sometimes leveled against it around the world, the Lausanne institution responded firmly in any case from the spring of 2023.
At the close of the Executive Commission meeting last March, the IOC President castigated the attitude of Western governments.
As Thomas Bach said:
It is deplorable to see that governments do not want to respect the will of the majority of stakeholders in the Olympic Movement, nor the autonomy of sport.
It is deplorable to see that these governments are not addressing the issue of double standards. We have not seen a single comment about their attitude towards the participation of athletes from countries of 70 other wars and armed conflicts around the world.
Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, and Tony Estanguet, President of the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Games, Wednesday July 26, 2023, during the ceremony for awarding invitations to the National Olympic Committees (Credits – IOC / Greg Martin)It now remains to be seen whether the strict conditions laid down by the IOC will be fully respected, in particular with regard to the absence of a link between the athletes and the Russian and Belarusian armies.
On this subject, the institution – which counts on the additional support of the International Federations – has mandated a specialized firm to sift through the backgrounds of the athletes, in their respective life paths or through interviews or other declarations on the social networks.
Concentrated in the home stretch of preparations, the Organizing Committee (COJO) for its part is content to accept the IOC’s conditions.
As the body said in a press release:
We note the IOC’s decision to authorize athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport to participate in the Paris 2024 Games as Neutral Individual Athletes, subject to strict eligibility conditions in the event of qualification. It is important to note that qualification for the Paris 2024 Games, as well as the establishment of strict eligibility rules for Neutral Individual Athletes, are the responsibility of the IOC and the International Federations.
[…] The responsibility of Paris 2024 is to welcome athletes qualified for the Games in the best possible conditions, regardless of their nationality. Eight months before the start of the Games, this is one of our main priorities.
Also taking note of the Olympic decision, the President of World Athletics also recalled in his own way the distribution of roles and responsibilities of each person in the sporting management of the Ukrainian conflict and the implementation of the Games.
Evoking both the IOC decision and the fact that International Federations have a certain prerogative regarding the integration of athletes into their respective sports, Sebastian Coe explained:
We have a fixed position that has not changed.
I think it is right that International Federations make decisions that they believe are in the best interests of their sport. This is what our Council did.
You might see Russian and Belarusian athletes, but that won’t be the case in athletics. This is a position that will no longer change and which was adopted almost unanimously by our members..
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