Ukraine to consider allowing Ukrainian athletes compete against ‘neutral’ Russian and Belarusians
Ukraine is considering changing its strict ‘no participation’ policy to allow Ukrainian athletes the opportunity to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – even if Russians and Belarusians are competing under a neutral flag, said Youth and Sports Minister Vadym Huttsait, reported Hromadske.
"Now we have started a discussion about the possibility, if Russia and Belarus are not at the Olympic Games [as countries], that our athletes will participate in all qualifying competitions for the Olympic Games," Huttsait said.
“We are holding discussions with our Ukrainian federations, with our athletes [on the issue]. They tried to prevent Russia and Belarus from participating in the Olympic Games. We did it because the flags and other symbols of Russia and Belarus will not be there," the minister said.
Under the guidance of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommendations, many international sports federations began allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete earlier this year as “neutral athletes” if they met a list of criteria, including not supporting the war and not being affiliated with the military.
The strict ‘no participation’ policy significantly harms the chances for Ukrainian athletes to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Ukrainian athletes, including Olympic medalists like Olha Kharlan (fencing) and Daria Bilodid (judo) have been kept out of competitions because of the participation of “neutral athletes” from Russia and Belarus.
IOC President Thomas Bach is making every effort to ensure that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to compete at Paris 2024 under a neutral flag, it was reported on June 22.
"Two weeks ago, I met with French President Emmanuel Macron, and we agreed to cooperate, in particular, on the issue of the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the Olympics in Paris," Bach said.
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