The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that Russians and Belarusians can participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics under a neutral flag, but Sebastian Coe disagreed with this decision. Just ten days later, the president of the International Association of Athletics Federations appears to be taking a step back and offering a ray of hope to athletes in these countries.

>> Russia reacted to the conditions announced by the IOC for the participation of athletes in the Olympics in Paris

Russian athletes still banned from 2024 Olympics but ‘things are changing’ says Sebastian Coe

Most international sports federations have decided to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to return to competition, but athletics has said it will maintain the ban.

While he said the Olympic door remained firmly closed to Russian athletes, Coe now admitted “the world is changing” and highlighted the existence of a task force monitoring the situation.

“There are no changes. The most important thing is that the autonomy and independence of international federations in making these decisions is very important. We made a decision that we believe was in the best interest of our sport.

Do I see any changes in the near future? I do not know. The world changes every five minutes, the situation can change. We have a working group that is monitoring the situation in sports and will advise the Council on the circumstances that must exist for the ban to be lifted.” Sebastian Coethe president of the International Federation of Athletics, Reuters quotes.

>> Ukraine reacts to the fact that athletes from Russia and Belarus were admitted to the 2024 Olympics

The IOC allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris

The International Olympic Committee allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris (2024) under a neutral flag, with the exception of team competitions and on the condition that they do not actively support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee banned Russians and Belarusians from world sport until the end of February 2022, but has now moved in two stages to secure their return.

The explanation was that athletes should not have to pay for mistakes or actions of the government.

At the same time, the IOC in March recommended international federations to reintegrate Russians and Belarusians under a neutral flag in their competitions.

According to the IOC statement, only eleven “individual neutral athletes”, including eight Russians and three Belarusians, have so far qualified for the 2024 Olympics, compared to around sixty Ukrainian athletes.

The IOC was waiting to assess the conduct of the competition, which was generally deemed satisfactory, and to see the evolution of the position of the Ukrainian government, which initially asked its athletes to boycott any competition involving Russians before softening its stance. position this summer, reports Agerpres.

>> IOC, an important message about the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Olympic Games in Paris