On Thursday, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) stated that the committee will not boycott the upcoming Paris Olympics, despite the International Olympic Committee’s sanctions against Russian athletes due to the invasion of Ukraine. Stanislav Pozdnyakov, the ROC’s president and a former Olympic fencer, noted that he has garnered support from various National Olympic Committees, including China.
The IOC ruled last month that Russia and Belarus should not receive invitations to compete as teams in the 2024 Games in Paris because of their involvement in the war against Ukraine. Still, it said it was open to inviting individuals with Russian or Belarusian passports. Such athletes would compete under the name “Individual Neutral Athletes” and without their national flags or anthems being displayed. They would also have to abide by the IOC’s rules on not supporting the war, and IOC officials could carry out background checks and reviews of social media activity.
However, Pozdnyakov suggested it might be a while before such athletes are invited to the Games because the IOC needs to work with international sports federations and develop the conditions and criteria. The IOC had also ruled that Russian or Belarusian competitors could not win medals in events in which they take part under the AIN emblem, and they would not count towards overall medal counts.
The decision drew an immediate backlash from Ukraine, which has left the door open to boycotting the Games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to participate. Vadym Gutzeit, the president of Ukraine’s Olympic committee, said the IOC was “not listening to the international community” and that allowing Russian athletes to compete at the Games would send the wrong message to the world.
Ukraine was joined by the Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Estonia in its threats to boycott the Games if Russia were invited to take part. British Prime Minister Theresa May warned of “irreparable damage” to the country if Russian athletes were given the green light. The IOC’s move also angered the Kremlin, with a top sports official slamming it as a “catastrophic mistake.”
Nevertheless, Pozdnyakov insisted that Russia would not resort to boycotting the Games. “We will never take the path of boycotting (the Games). We will always support our athletes,” he said in comments to the state RIA news agency.
In a separate development, the IOC launched a formal procedure on Thursday to investigate the ROC’s decision to accept members from regional sports councils in the occupied eastern parts of Ukraine. That is the latest step in a long process to punish the ROC for its actions over the past year, which included the invasion of Ukraine and its illegal annexation of Crimea.
It is not the first time the IOC has considered sanctions against the ROC, which was previously sanctioned after its alleged doping violations. However, it is the first time that IOC president Thomas Bach has threatened to break up the governing body if it does not change its policies.
