Olympics sports leaders meet, discuss Russian participation at Paris Games

Olympic sports bodies were meeting Wednesday amid ongoing uncertainty about if and how Russian athletes could return to their competitions ahead of the 2024 Paris GamesThe annual meeting of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations ASOIF comes more than two months after the IOC detailed advice on how individual athletes from Russia and its military ally Belarus could be reintegrated as neutral athletes despite those countries ongoing war on UkraineExactly how that neutrality is being defined is not very much clearer now as key qualification events start for the Olympics that open in July next yearThe International Olympic Committee in March advised that some Russians and Belarusians could return in individual events but not team sports if they had not actively supported the war in Ukraine and are not contracted to ldquomilitary or national security agenciesrdquoThe IOC also suggested ASOIF and the winter sports umbrella group AIOWF could oversee ldquocreating a single independent panelrdquo to run and ldquoharmonizerdquo the neutral status evaluations of hundreds of athletes coaches and support staffThat has not happened and there was no move Wednesday on the ASOIF agenda in the IOCs home city of Lausanne toward taking on that complex responsibilityIOC president Thomas Bach told leaders of governing bodies on the 32sport Paris program who have ultimate control over their own events some had proven how Russian and Belarusians could continue to competeldquoYou are doing so against the backdrop of the many traditional I may say naysayers who want to make people believe that it would never workrdquo Bach said He did not speak with reporters when leaving after his speechBach and the IOC led calls within days of the invasion of Ukraine in February of last year to banish Russia from international sport including to protect the security of athletesAs the war continued and the 2024 Olympics approached the IOC and Bach started to suggest it was discrimination to exclude all Russians and Belarusians If approved to compete the IOC said Russian and Belarusians would not be allowed to use their flag anthem or uniforms in national colorsASOIF officials previously cautioned ldquoeach sport has different realitiesrdquo including where Olympic qualification events are being hosted and the influence of Ukraines allies in sports and governments especially in EuropeAlso Read IOC gives green signal to Russian Belarusian athletes to compete in Paris OlympicsIn gymnastics a toptier Summer Games sport where Russians excel a decision on reintegrating them was pushed back to at least July World championships that are a key qualifier for Paris start Sept 30 in Antwerp BelgiumTrack and field took the strongest stance with World Athletics president Sebastian Coe citing deaths of hundreds of athletes in Ukraine that ldquohardened my resolverdquo to exclude all RussiansThe International Judo Federation let some Russians compete in Qatar at its worlds this month an event which was boycotted by Ukraine The IJFs honorary president until last year was Vladimir Putin who is an expert judokaThe complicated situation in fencing Bachs own sport where the longtime governing body president Kremlinconnected billionaire Alisher Usmanov stepped aside while under international sanctions saw several Olympic champions from Russia denied neutral status this monthThey included the daughter of Russian Olympic Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov who then criticized the neutral eligibility process as a ldquofarcerdquo and a ldquothinly veiled suspensionrdquo Pozdnyakov also warned of a Russian boycott of eventsOlympic sports officials are weighing their decisions while in Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plus past and current Olympic medalists continue to insist Russia must be excluded from ParisParis mayor Anne Hidalgo also said there should be no Russian delegation at the Olympics if the war continuesHowever tennis fans in Paris turned on Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk on Sunday at the French Open booing her for refusing a postmatch handshake with her Belarusian opponent Aryna Sabalenka Roland Garros also will host the Olympic tennis tournaments next yearTennis and cycling have continued since the war started to let Russians and Belarusians compete as neutral individuals on their global toursAlso Read No place for Russian shuttlers at Paris 2024 as Olympic qualifying kicks offUltimately the IOC can choose to bar Russia from its Olympics and Bach said in March such a decision could be taken ldquoat the appropriate time at its full discretionrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever