IOC lifts Olympic ban on Belarus but Russia still barred

Competitors from Russia and Belarus had been banned from international competition following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, although some were permitted to compete as neutrals.

Russians will still only be able to compete under the neutral banner, on an individual basis, and only if they have not actively supported the conflict.

The IOC executive board released a statement saying that it “no longer recommends any restrictions on the participation of Belarusian athletes, including teams”.

“The IOC reaffirms that athletes’ participation in international competition should not be limited by the actions of their governments, including involvement in a war or conflict.”

The lifting of IOC “restrictions” opens the door to independent federations now formally implementing it.

However, this new policy should allow for a Belarusian delegation to compete at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in 2028 when they will be present at the opening ceremony and included in the medal table.

The IOC said that the timing of the statement recognised that the qualification period for the 2028 Games begins this (northern hemisphere) summer.

At the last two Olympics in Paris 2024 and the Milan-Cortina Winter Games in February, Belarusians competed alongside Russians as “Individual Neutral Athletes”, stripped of their national colours and in small numbers—there were 17 in Paris and seven in Italy.

“The situation relating to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is different from that relating to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus,” said the IOC in their statement.

While the ROC has been suspended since autumn 2023 for having placed the sports organisations of four occupied Ukrainian regions under its authority, the IOC also said that fresh concerns have recently arisen regarding the Russian anti-doping system.