Ukraine Renews Threat to Boycott Olympics if Russians Compete

On Friday, the head of the Paris Olympics organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, expressed support for the I.O.C. position, saying individual athletes were “not involved at all in these decisions right now and, personally, I think they shouldn’t suffer the consequences of decisions that don’t concern them.”

“We’re hoping a maximum number of delegations and athletes can live their dream of taking part in the Games,” he told Agence France-Presse in the southern French city of Marseille.

Russian teams continue to be banned from other major sports, but the status of individual athletes has been less clear cut, with many sports, including tennis, allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to play in events without flags or affiliation to their home countries.

Soccer’s leaders recently extended a ban on Russian teams from international and club competitions that was imposed shortly after the start of the war. But that ban went into effect only after several countries said they would refuse to take the field against Russian opponents.

The latest proposal to accommodate Russia and its athletes is in keeping with the I.O.C.’s treatment of Russia in the aftermath of revelations that it had corrupted several Olympics and world championships with a state-backed doping program involving thousands of athletes. Having initially threatened the most severe sanctions, the I.O.C. eventually backed down, allowing Russian athletes and teams to take part in recent Summer and Winter Olympics ostensibly as neutrals.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/sports/olympics/ukraine-boycott-olympics-2024.html