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Olympic officials announced Tuesday that Russian and Belarusian athletes competing at the Paris 2024 Games under an unbiased flag will not participate in the opening ceremony.
Individual impartial athletes (NWAs) from both countries “will not participate in the parade of delegations and groups at the Opening Ceremony because they are individual athletes,” International Olympic Committee director James Macleod said after an executive committee assembly in Lausanne.
“But they will have the opportunity to revel in the event,” Macleod added.
Neutral athletes will be there, he said, but they will be among the passengers at the boat parade on the Seine on July 26.
Macleod said the situation mirrored that of the 1992 Barcelona Games for “independent Olympic participants” from the former Yugoslavia.
“The decision on the NWA’s participation in the Closing Ceremony will be taken at a later date, bearing in mind that it is not the groups that are at the Closing Ceremony, but all the athletes together,” Macleod said.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus had already been barred from attending the opening rite of the Paralympic Games, which begin in Paris on Aug. 28, just over two weeks after the end of the Olympics.
In December, the IOC suspended Russia from the 2024 Games but gave the green light to Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as independent countries as long as they are not actively involved in the war against Ukraine.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus have been under sanctions on a multitude of sports since Moscow introduced its attack on Ukraine in February 2022.
Over the past year, several Olympic sports have eased their restrictions, allowing athletes from both countries to return to festivals under certain conditions.
However, Russians and Belarusians were banned from athletics.
Macleod added that there are currently 12 NARI with Russian passports and seven NARI with Belarusian passports who have qualified for Paris 2024, out of the 6,000 participants already for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
It is currently expected that “in the most likely scenario, 36 independent athletes with Russian passports and 22 independent athletes with Belarusian passports will qualify for the Olympic Games. “
The maximum number, which Macleod says must be reached, would be 55 and 28, respectively.
Some 330 Russian and 104 Belarusian athletes competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which were delayed due to Covid.
The IOC said impartial athletes would have their own flag and a wordless anthem. The medals earned through them will be displayed in the overall medal table.
“No flag, anthem, colors or any other identity of Russia or Belarus will be displayed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on any official online page or at any official function,” the IOC said.
“No Russian, Belarusian or state representative will be invited or accredited for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. “