L
the Olympic Games of The Paris Games, which opened yesterday in the French capital, are the fourth consecutive edition of the universal sporting festival, both in its summer and winter versions, in which Russian athletes, due to a political decision, cannot participate representing their country, and the few who wanted to undergo the humiliating practice of passing the filters that, following the annexation of four Ukrainian regions in 2022, were established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), will have to compete, once again, on an individual basis, without a uniform in national colours, flag or anthem. The same for the Belarusians, for the first time.
Since the Winter Games in Pyeongchang 2018, as a result of the suspension in two Olympic editions due to the doping scandal in Sochi 2014, Russian athletes were able to attend Tokyo 2020 (postponed to 2021 due to the covid pandemic) and Beijing 2022 as part of the group of Olympic athletes from Russiafirst, and of the Russian Olympic Committee teamafter.
Everything was made worse by the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the IOC decided to extend the exclusion to Paris 2024, setting requirements that exclude any team sport and any athlete who has expressed the slightest sign of support for the Russian military operation in Ukraine or who has anything to do with the Russian army, restrictions that were extended to Belarus for allowing its territory to be used to invade its common neighbor.
The IOC has also coined the term AIN (French acronym for neutral individual athlete) which means that only 15 Russians and seven Belarusians will be eligible for medals in Paris in sports such as tennis, cycling and swimming.
At least 63 Russian athletes have opted to acquire a second nationality and now represent the colours of Australia, France, Greece, Italy, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and 20 other countries, including Ukraine.
These are the facts in brief. The question remains: How long will politics continue to prevail over sport? Should an athlete who had nothing to do with the decisions that are intended to be punished suffer the consequences?
Does it really help to bring about peace by excluding a few hundred athletes who have spent years preparing for the Olympic Games? The IOC believes it is doing the right thing. Really?
