Olympics-IOC lifts Russia suspension, athletes to return to international competitions
IOC Decision and Implications for Russian Athletes
By Karolos Grohmann
July 7 (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee on Tuesday, marking a significant step towards Russia's reintegration into the Olympic fold ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Background: Russia's Suspension and Recent Developments
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the ROC was suspended in October 2023 for recognising regional Olympic councils in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
The IOC said on Tuesday its executive board had lifted that suspension, which will see Russian athletes back in many international competitions including LA28 Olympic qualifiers, but had not yet decided whether Russia could display its flag and colours or have its anthem played at the Games.
IOC's Stance on Athletes and War
"We don't condone any wars, including this one. We will continue to support Ukraine like we have since this started. But I don't believe athletes should pay the price," IOC President Kirsty Coventry told a press conference. "We don't want to hold athletes accountable for the actions of their government."
The decision marks the latest step by the IOC to ease Russia's return to international sport after urging federations in December to readmit Russian and Belarusian youth athletes (under-23s).
"We made it clear that all athletes had the possibility to compete at the Olympic Games. This is what this decision speaks to. It allows Russian athletes to take part in sports competitions. We thought it was really important for athletes to have that possibility," Coventry said.
Russian Response to IOC Decision
Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev said the IOC's decision should clear the way for Russian athletes to make a full return to the international sporting stage.
"Our country's return to the Olympic family is a green light for international federations to reinstate all our athletes," Degtyarev said.
Russian athletes competed as neutrals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games.
Controversy and Criticism
International Reactions
'SHAMEFUL DECISION'
But there was criticism, with Ukraine's foreign ministry calling the decision 'troubling' and urging countries hosting competitions to uphold a ban on Russian state symbols.
Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified from the 2026 Winter Olympics over a helmet carrying a message about Ukraine, told Reuters the IOC's decision was “absolutely shameful”.
Athlete-led advocacy group Global Athlete and FairSport said the decision showed little accountability by the IOC amid an ongoing conflict.
Statements from Advocacy Groups
"This decision represents a fundamental departure from the principles of Olympism. By welcoming Russia back into the Olympic fold despite its history of state-sponsored doping and its ongoing war against Ukraine, the IOC has chosen to rewrite, to lower, its own standards for stakeholder accountability," they said in a joint statement.
Challenges to Full Russian Participation
Fragmented Participation Across Sports
FRAGMENTED PARTICIPATION?
The decision, however, is unlikely to trigger a full participation of Russian athletes across all sports, with many international federations still maintaining separate bans for them.
The World Athletics Council last week reaffirmed its decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competition, four years after it initially imposed sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
World Athletics voted to end its eight-year doping ban of the Russian Athletics Federation in 2023 but the separate ban over the invasion of Ukraine has kept out their athletes.
Several other international federations have similar suspensions in place.
IOC's View on Participation
Asked whether the IOC's decision could lead to a fragmented participation of Russian athletes ahead of the LA Olympics, Coventry said: "We don't foresee any patchwork."
Olympic qualifying events have already taken place for some sports with most kicking off their qualifiers later in 2026 and 2027.
The IOC had said in imposing its ban in 2023 that Russia recognising regional Olympic councils in occupied parts of Ukraine violated the Olympic Charter and the territorial integrity of Ukraine’s Olympic Committee.
On Tuesday it said: "The ROC confirmed that it does not, and will not, conduct any activities in these territories. The IOC EB will continue to closely monitor the situation relating to any ROC activities in those territories, and reserves the right to take any further measures if deemed necessary."
Doping Scandals and Anti-Doping Measures
History of Doping in Russian Sports
DOPING SCANDALS
In addition to Russia being ostracised over its invasion of Ukraine, its athletes' return to competition comes against the backdrop of one of the most damaging doping scandals in Olympic history.
The country has been under scrutiny since a 2015 World Anti-Doping Agency-commissioned report found evidence of systematic doping in Russian athletics, followed by findings that a state-sponsored cover-up operated around the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Current Anti-Doping Requirements
The IOC said all Russian athletes now returning to international competition would have to meet relevant anti-doping requirements.
Russia was barred from competing under its flag at several subsequent Games, with many athletes admitted only as neutrals, and WADA imposed a four-year ban in 2019 after Moscow was found to have manipulated laboratory data — a sanction later cut to two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Russian officials have repeatedly denied the existence of a state-backed doping programme.
"We ask to ensure that adequate testing is done on Russian athletes coming into the LA28 Games," Coventry said.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Additional reporting by Julien Pretot, Ron Popeski and Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Hugh Lawson and Clare Fallon)
