The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday that athletes from Belarus and Russia who have qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics in their respective sports may compete as neutrals without wearing flags, emblems, or anthems during the competition the following year.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, the athletes were first banned from participating internationally; however, they have since been gradually permitted to return as neutral participants in the majority of sports.
“The Executive Board (EB) of the IOC has decided that Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) who have qualified through the existing qualification systems of the International Federations (IFs) on the field of play will be declared eligible to compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in accordance with the conditions outlined below,” the Olympic body said in a statement.
“Individual Neutral Athletes are athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport.”
The neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus will only compete in individual sports and no teams for the two countries will be allowed to participate in Paris.
The IOC also said athletes who actively support the war in Ukraine will not be eligible while any support personnel who do so will also not be entered.
It said out of 4,600 athletes qualified for the Paris Games so far, eight were Russians and three were Belarusian.
