Russian athletes were banned from competing under their national flag and anthem due to state-sponsored doping violations, and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) remains suspended from the IOC after an unsuccessful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals, known as "Individual Neutral Athletes" (AINs), at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but with strict conditions and limitations.
Only around 15-17 Russian athletes and 17 Belarusian athletes are expected to participate as AINs in individual events like tennis, canoeing, cycling, gymnastics, and swimming, with no representation in team sports.
AINs cannot use their national flags or anthems, and their medals won't be included in the official country medal count. An independent anthem without lyrics will be played for AIN gold medal winners.
AINs must have no direct link to the military and must not actively support the war in Ukraine to be eligible to compete.
Ukraine strongly condemned the decision to include neutral Russian athletes, with President Volodymyr Zelensky calling it "shameful" and stating that the athletes' flags are "stained with blood."
Several countries, including the US, UK, and Australia, also voiced opposition to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Paris Olympics.
The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the IOC's neutrality rules as unfair and unacceptable, accusing the organization of straying from its principles.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: NZ Herald, New York Times, Yahoo Sports, NBC Chicago.