The International Olympic Committee’s efforts to find a “pathway” for Russians to take part in the 2024 Paris Games despite the invasion of Ukraine were strongly criticised by Britain yesterday.
Ignoring calls from Ukraine to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from next year’s Olympics, the IOC said that a way to allow competitors from those countries to take part should be “further explored”.
Russia and their allies Belarus have been sidelined from most Olympic sports since the invasion of Ukraine last February. But the IOC said “no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport”.
The OAC said: “All athletes, regardless of their nationality or the passport they hold, should be able to compete in sports competitions.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is strongly opposed to any moves to reintegrate Russia. Britain’s Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said the IOC’s move was a “world away from the reality of war”.
“We condemn any action that allows President Putin to legitimise his illegal war in Ukraine,” Donelan said. “This position from the IOC is a world away from the reality of war being felt by the Ukrainian people – and IOC president (Thomas) Bach’s own words less than a year ago where he strongly condemned Russia for breaking the Olympic Truce and urged it to ‘give peace a chance,” she added.
The head of Denmark’s National Olympic Committee, Hans Natorp, said his country was also strongly opposed to Russia’s return to the Olympic fold. “The Russian aggression in UKR is escalating,” he tweeted. “Under these circumstances, it will be unacceptable to open up for RUS and Belarusian international sports participation. We stand firmly in our position. Now is not the right time to consider their return.” The mayor of Paris said though that she was in favour of Russian athletes competing as neutrals at the 2024 Olympics.
“I think that it’s a sporting moment and we shouldn’t deprive athletes of the competition,” Anne Hidalgo said. “But I think and what I’m arguing for, as is a large part of the sporting world, is that there isn’t a delegation under the Russian banner.”
She suggested they compete under a “neutral banner”.
Paris organisers have no say on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The IOC said that the international federation for each Olympic sport was “the sole authority for its international competitions”.

OCA says Russian athletes can take part in Asian Games
Asian Olympic chiefs say Russians can take part in Asian Games
Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to compete in this year’s Asian Games despite the invasion of Ukraine, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said yesterday.
“All athletes, regardless of their nationality or the passport they hold, should be able to compete in sports competitions,” the OCA said in a statement.
The move from Asia offers a potential way for Russian athletes to compete in events which serve as qualifiers for the Paris Olympics. Qualifying in some sports is already underway.
Italian Olympic gold medallist Fontana hints at US switch
Italy’s most decorated female Olympian, record breaking short track speed skater Arianna Fontana, has hinted she might switch allegiance to the US after a breakdown in relations with her national skating federation.
The decision could leave Italy without one of its key athletes when it hosts the 2026 winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the 32-year-old said she had “explored new options” while training in Salt Lake City, Utah.
She said she joined a trip her husband had already planned to see what the US and the city could offer should she decide to continue her Olympic journey, pointing to unresolved issues with her home federation.
“I cannot justify competing for a federation that forgives behaviours and decisions that hurt me,” Fontana said. “I have important decisions to make and all the cards are on the table, even those I thought I would never consider,” she wrote.
A rift between her and the Italian national skating federation reportedly emerged after it opposed her choice of husband and Italian-American citizen Anthony Lobello as coach after the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Things got worse when Fontana claimed she had been harassed by male national team athletes during training. Her ex-coach Stelio Conti told Italian news wire AGI yesterday that “taking into account what she said, the possibility of Arianna Fontana going to compete for the US is quite real.”
The Italian national skating federation reacted with a statement expressing “its astonishment and regret for the serious remarks” made by Fontana, calling them unhelpful amid efforts to find common ground ahead of the 2026 Games.