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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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South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
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South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)

South Korea expressed regret that its delegation of athletes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was introduced as from rival North Korea and has demanded assurances from organizers the mistake will not happen again.

As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" - the official name of North Korea - in French and English.

The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed.

South Korea's vice minister for sports and culture, Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, had requested a meeting with International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.

"We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering," it said.

South Korea's National Olympic Committee immediately referred the incident to the Games' organizers and requested that the error will not be repeated.

South Korea's delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.