The United States has spoken out in favor of the reintegration of Russian and Belarusian athletes into world sport. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Poland strongly oppose it.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is studying the issue with a view to the Asian Games at the end of next September, and perhaps the Paris Olympics in 2024. The IOC was the first sports institution to ban Russian athletes, after the invasion of Ukraine.
Denis Oswald, member of the IOC, explains in Forum that the exclusion measures for Russian and Belarusian athletes “no longer had a reason to exist in certain countries or certain continents, in particular in Asia or Africa, because the sensitivity to regard to war is not the same.”
Regarding the Asian Games, Denis Oswald recalls that “the IOC has declared that it wants to explore the possibility of reintegrating these athletes.” In fact, their conditions of participation have yet to be precisely defined, he explains.
For the moment, this reintegration could be done without a flag or mention of belonging to Russia. “Any athlete who showed support for the war would be excluded,” says Denis Oswald. He adds that commitments should perhaps be made by these athletes against any political recovery.
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