IOC Calls for Lifting Restrictions on Belarusian Athletes

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recommended that international sports federations allow Belarusian athletes to return to competition under their full national identity, without needing to go through a vetting process to be recognized as neutral. The IOC made this announcement on Thursday, as sanctions from international sports events targeting Russia and Belarus remain in effect.

Although the recommendation does not yet apply to Russia, the move is seen as a step closer to ending Russia's isolation in the Olympic community since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. A major barrier to Russia's return is the ongoing investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) related to recent reports about a Russian anti-doping agency official, Veronika Loginova. The IOC said its executive board noted "with concern" new information being reviewed by WADA, without naming Loginova specifically.

Previously, athletes from Russia and Belarus had to be approved as neutral, not supporting the war, to participate in individual events at the Paris 2024 Olympics and the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in February. A total of 32 athletes from the two countries competed in Paris, winning five medals, including a gold medal in trampoline from a Belarusian athlete.

"The IOC reaffirms that the participation of athletes in international competition should not be limited by the actions of their governments, including involvement in war or conflict," the Olympic body said in a statement.

The IOC also noted that the qualification period for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics "begins this summer." Meanwhile, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has been suspended by the IOC since October 2023 for incorporating regional sports bodies in illegally occupied territories in eastern Ukraine. "While the ROC has had constructive exchanges with the IOC regarding its suspension," the IOC said, "the ROC remains suspended while the IOC Legal Committee continues to examine the matter."