Russian athletes cleared for 2024 Olympics should participate - deputy PM

MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) - Russian athletes cleared to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris should take part in the tournament, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said.

"There are just a few sports where it remains possible [to qualify for the Olympics], and the national federations and the Olympic Committee of Russia will then have to make a joint decision. If the athletes have this opportunity, they should probably go," Chernyshenko said in the State Duma on Thursday.

"If the International Olympic Committee [IOC] officially confirms that it lifts the requirement for athletes cleared to participate to condemn the special military operation or to renounce their country, I think there will be no judicial obstacles to stop these athletes from going to the Olympics," he said.

The terms of participation in the Olympics put forth by the IOC and international federations will prevent almost all Russian athletes from competing at the Paris Olympics, Chernyshenko said.

In December 2023, the IOC decided to allow individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Under the admission criteria, Russian and Belarusian passport holders can only compete as individual neutral athletes and are banned from team events. Athletes and support staff, who have actively expressed their support for the special military operation in Ukraine or are members of the armed forces or security agencies in their countries are also prohibited from competing in the Olympics.

Officials from Russia and Belarus will be barred from the Olympics. In addition, athletes will be required to undergo an anti-doping process and sign the new participation requirements, which include a promise to respect the Olympic charter.