Will Russia and Belarus be able to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games?
Will we see Russian and Belarusian athletes in neutral uniforms at the Paris Olympics? The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it will not set a specific framework for deciding on this issue and, in the meantime, qualifications for many Olympic disciplines are already underway.
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00:00 Will we see Russian and Belarusian athletes in neutral uniforms at the Paris Olympics?
00:06 The International Olympic Committee has still not made a decision on this issue.
00:10 And in the meantime, qualifications for many Olympic disciplines are already in full swing.
00:15 So what awaits the athletes?
00:18 Since 1992, the age of boycotts has been over.
00:22 But now it's a new situation with the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
00:26 And the IOC tries to find middle ground by permitting athletes from Russia and Belarus
00:32 as neutral athletes.
00:34 But since there's so much resistance by many federations and national Olympic committees,
00:37 I think we will just see a very limited presence of athletes from those two countries.
00:43 In March, the IOC recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes who did not publicly
00:47 support the war in Ukraine be allowed exclusively in a neutral status.
00:51 But many Olympic sporting bodies have not yet developed criteria for the return of Russian
00:55 and Belarusian athletes to compete in their competitions.
01:00 And the IOC made it clear that nobody who was in the army who publicly supported the
01:06 war would be permitted at the Olympics.
01:09 So this sets the bar already quite high.
01:12 This week, a year before the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris, the IOC carried out
01:17 the traditional distribution of invitations to the Games' national Olympic committees.
01:22 203 countries are invited, except for Russia and Belarus.
01:26 With the Ukraine war ongoing, the IOC will most likely make a decision as late as spring
01:31 2024.
01:34 It's a very critical decision and situation.
01:36 And it's not the only conflict in the world.
01:38 And we should also not forget that many Russian and Belarusian athletes are not in favor with
01:45 the war.
01:46 So it's very difficult to answer the question where to draw the line.
01:50 So the IOC tries here to find a compromise that suits everybody.
01:55 (singing)
01:57 (whooshing)