Russia reiterates vision of classifying its athletes for Paris 2024 one week before the IOC meets

As the Executive Commission of the International Olympic Committee prepares to discuss the global Olympic Movement next week, Russia has reiterated its hope Russian athletes will compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics, although there are still no signs of an end to the war in Ukraine anytime soon.

Speaking to the press Friday, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Stanislav Pozdnyakov did not rule out hope the IOC will allow international federations the right to decide on the admission of Russian athletes for Paris 2024.

“The most important thing is to start qualifying for the Olympic Games, this is a priority for us. We are working in this direction. I cannot say that there is a definite point of no return. Because the classification system in each sport is different and it starts at different periods of time,” Pozdnyakov said.

“Therefore, the phrase ‘point of no return’ is absolutely inapplicable to the situation. If we talk about the same fencing, the period starts in April, but includes eight stages of the World Cup, and only five results are taken into account. Therefore, there is no deadline as such. The same applies to other sports.

“Russia will certainly insist on the full participation of our athletes in the qualifying period, and all our diplomatic efforts will be directed towards this. As you know, diplomacy loves silence, so there will be no strong statements in the near future,” he warned.

Last July, the former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and honorary member of the IOC, the Scotsman Craig Reedie, uncovered a wave of discomfort among Russian and Belarusian officials and athletes when he considered the possibility of participation of these two countries in the qualifying events for Paris 2024, even in sports in which athletes from those two nations are accepted under neutral flags such as cycling, tennis (except at Wimbledon) and judo.

In August, IOC President Thomas Bach, in an interview with the German newspaper Sport Bild, made it clear that as long as the war in Ukraine continues, there can be no changes in the recommendations of the Olympic body.

Four days after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, with border assistance from Belarus, the IOC recommended all international federations ban athletes and officials from the two countries, as it considered the invasion a flagrant violation of the Olympic Truce.

Most sports federations decided to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments, and both nations were withdrawn from organizing a good number of competitions.

Pozdnyakov said the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) has invited Russia to its 26th General Assembly to be held in Seoul, South Korea, on October 19-20. Pozdnyakov considered the invite as Russia “once again begins to be heard in the world.”

To date, both the IOC and ANOC have withstood pressure from various sectors with the demand for sanctions on the two National Olympic Committees and their officials, some have even called for the dismissal of Russian IOC members Yelena Isinbayeva and Shamil Tarpishchev.

“This war has not been started by the Russian people, Russian athletes, the Russian Olympic Committee or the IOC members in Russia,” Bach said.