Russian athletes are banned from competing for their country because of the war in Ukraine, but will be allowed to participate as “Individual Neutral Athletes.”
The 2024 Olympics, set to kick off in Paris on Friday, will pit nation against nation amid a particularly fraught geopolitical landscape.
The Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Palestine conflict, as well as tensions between the U.S. and Iran, and a rocky relationship between the U.S. and China, have made the world stage a complicated place at present.
Nevertheless, athletes from countries around the globe will be expected to put international disputes aside and demonstrate good sporting behavior in Paris. And Russian and Ukrainian athletes will be participating, meaning they may well come face-to-face in some disciplines—even though, technically, Russia has been banned from the Games.
Athletes from Russia will be competing at the Olympics, but as “Individual Neutral Athletes” (AIN), after organizers banned the country from the Games following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Consequently, the Russian flag has been banned from venues, Russian athletes will not be able to wear national kit and the country’s national anthem is forbidden. Russian athletes who win medals will not be included on the official Paris 2024 medal table.
In addition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also ruled that Russian athletes participating as individuals must not have actively supported the war and nor may they have any links to the Russian military. No Russian teams are allowed to compete and there will be no Russian track and field competitors because the sport’s governing body World Athletics has banned them.
