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IOC: Russian, Belarusian Athletes to Participate at Paris Olympics as Neutrals

FILE - The Olympic rings are seen in front of the Paris City Hall, in Paris, on April 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - The Olympic rings are seen in front of the Paris City Hall, in Paris, on April 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
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IOC: Russian, Belarusian Athletes to Participate at Paris Olympics as Neutrals

FILE - The Olympic rings are seen in front of the Paris City Hall, in Paris, on April 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - The Olympic rings are seen in front of the Paris City Hall, in Paris, on April 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)

Russian and Belarusian athletes who qualify in their sport for the Paris 2024 Olympics can take part as neutrals without flags, emblems or anthems at the event next year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday.

The athletes had initially been banned from competing internationally following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, but have since been gradually allowed back as neutral athletes in most sports.

"The Executive Board (EB) of the IOC has decided that Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) who have qualified through the existing qualification systems of the International Federations (IFs) on the field of play will be declared eligible to compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in accordance with the conditions outlined below," the Olympic body said in a statement.
"Individual Neutral Athletes are athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport."
The neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus will only compete in individual sports and no teams for the two countries will be allowed to participate in Paris.
The IOC also said athletes who actively support the war in Ukraine will not be eligible while any support personnel who do so will also not be entered.
It said out of 4,600 athletes qualified for the Paris Games so far, eight were Russians and three were Belarusian.

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Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
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Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and his deputy, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris.

Held outside the traditional stadiums for the first time in history, the ceremony featured a parade of the 206 participating countries on 100 boats traveling approximately 6 kilometers along the Seine River.

The Saudi show jumping team player, Ramzy Al-Duhami, and his colleague, the Saudi Taekwondo champion Dunya Aboutaleb, raised the Saudi flag at the opening of the world’s largest sporting event.

Al-Duhami expressed his pride in raising the Kingdom’s flag alongside his teammate, noting that it was a dream for any Saudi citizen. He wished success for the Saudi athletes in representing Saudi sports with distinction.

Aboutaleb, in turn, said he was honored to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the Olympic Games, stating: “I aspire to perform at a level that reflects the support and attention given to sports in the Kingdom.”

The Saudi athletes’ uniform was admired by the international media and the audience, who applauded the players the moment their boat appeared on the Seine River.

The designs for the opening ceremony were chosen through a national competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, with the participation of designers from across the Kingdom.

Out of 128 competing designers, the chosen uniform by Saudi designer Alia Al-Salmi featured traditional men’s thobes and bishts and brightly patterned thobe al-nashal for women, symbolizing the athletes’ pride in their homeland and cultural roots.

Mashael Al-Ayed, 17, will be the first Saudi athlete to compete, taking to the pool for the 200 meters freestyle swimming event on July 28. Al-Ayed is the first female swimmer to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.