It is already known that the Russians and Belarusians who will appear at the Olympics under a neutral flag in Paris this summer will not be able to participate in the opening ceremony – they will not be included in the parade of boats sailing on the Seine River on July 26 as passengers.
Since Moscow launched its offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, Russian and Belarusian athletes have been sanctioned in a number of sports.
Over the past year, several Olympic sports have eased restrictions, allowing athletes from both countries to return to competition under certain conditions.
However, Russians and Belarusians are still banned from athletics.
It is established that 12 individual neutral athletes with Russian passports and 7 individual neutral athletes from Belarus have currently entered the 6,000 quota places that have already been allocated for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
It is predicted that “according to the most likely scenario, 36 individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport and 22 individual neutral athletes with a Belarusian passport will enter the Olympic Games.”
About 330 Russian and 104 Belarusian athletes participated in the Tokyo Games, which were postponed due to COVID-19.
Even now, Russians and Belarusians with passports to Paris are being persuaded to behave not as neutral athletes, but only as ambassadors of their countries.
On Wednesday, the self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Aliaksandr Lukashenka, also put in his trigram, who expressed his position on the participation of athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games in a neutral status during a tour of the Mogilev region.
“It is the athlete’s business how to behave in the Games. But if you’ve already been selected and you’re going there in a neutral status, then beat them all there, – A. Lukashenka rambled on like a village jurg with nonsense.
The Olympic Games will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
