Russia could return to some international sporting events and Olympic qualifiers by competing as part of Asia, rather than Europe.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach welcomed a “creative” plan on Friday to allow athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus to compete in Asia after more than nine months of isolation from most Olympic sports following the invasion of Ukraine.
The statement didn’t directly address whether Russia and Belarus can send teams to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, but a shift from Europe to Asia offers Russian athletes a potential way to compete in continental events that serve as qualifiers for the Games. . Qualifications in some sports are already underway.
On 28 February, four days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the IOC recommended barring Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitions, citing concerns over the safety and integrity of the competitions. Most of the Olympic sports followed suit and imposed bans.
The Olympic Summit, a conference hosted by the International Olympic Committee and chaired by President Thomas Bach, agreed on Friday that the IOC will “lead further exploration” of an initiative by the Olympic Council of Asia to allow Russia and Belarus to compete there , according to a statement. A series of consultations with sports federations, athletes and national sports bodies are foreseen.
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Bach “thanked the OCA for its creative initiative,” reads the statement on the IOC website. Russia has territory throughout Europe and Asia, but is traditionally considered part of Europe for the purposes of sporting events.
“During the debate, the interim president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) stated that, on the Asian continent, the reasons for protective measures no longer exist”, reads the IOC statement.
“The OCA has offered to facilitate the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in competitions in Asia under its authority, in compliance with the sanctions in force.”
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach at the Executive Committee meeting at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland December 5, 2022. Bach came up with a plan to allow Russian athletes to compete in international competitions and Olympic qualifiers.
(Denis Balibouse/Keystone via AP, Pool)
The IOC distinguishes between what it calls “sanctions,” such as preventing Russia from hosting sporting events and displaying national symbols in competitions, and “protective measures” excluding Russian athletes.
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Bach said Wednesday that his organization preferred not to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes but had to because, when it did so in February, national governments were trying to impose their own restrictions.
Ukraine has opposed the decision to invite Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov to the conference. No representatives of Ukraine were featured in the IOC’s published attendance list for the invitation-only event. Other than Russia, only the United States and China had represented their national Olympic bodies.
Sports federations are not obliged to follow IOC recommendations and some may maintain restrictions on Russia and Belarus. World Athletics president Seb Coe said last week that Russia must “exit Ukraine” before being readmitted to athletics. Coe was on the invite list for the Olympic summit, but was listed as “apologized” on Friday.
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The IOC has already allowed Russian athletes to participate in the Olympics without the country’s flag or anthem. A decade of doping controversies resulted in the Russian team being known as Olympic Athletes from Russia or the Russian Olympic Committee for three consecutive Winter and Summer Olympic Games.
If Russian athletes return to global rather than continental competitions, Ukrainian athletes could boycott the events in protest. When the International Judo Federation allowed Russia and Belarus to compete under a neutral flag, Ukraine refused to compete and said many of the Russian team also served as members of the military. The IJF excluded Russia and Belarus from September until January 2023.
