The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, marking a significant step towards Russia’s reintegration into the Olympic fold ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Following the start of the Ukrainian war in February 2022, the ROC was suspended in October 2023 for recognizing the regional Olympic councils of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
The IOC said its executive board had lifted that suspension but had not yet decided whether Russia would be able to display its flag, colors or play its anthem at the Games.
He insisted that he would continue to support Ukraine.
“We do not tolerate any war, including this one. We will continue to support Ukraine as we have done since this started. But I don’t think athletes should pay the price,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said at a news conference.
“We do not want to hold athletes responsible for the actions of their government.”
“We made it clear that all athletes had the chance to compete in the Olympic Games. This is what this decision is about. It allows Russian athletes to participate in sports competitions. We thought it was really important for athletes to have that chance,” Coventry said.
He added that the IOC will follow Russia closely.
There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine.
Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev said the IOC’s decision should clear the way for Russian athletes to fully return to the international sporting stage.
“The return of our country to the Olympic family is a green light for international federations to reinstate all our athletes,” Degtyarev said.
Russian athletes competed as neutrals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.
The IOC had said, in imposing its ban in 2023, that Russia’s recognition of regional Olympic councils in parts of Ukraine violated the Olympic Charter and the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee.
On Tuesday it said: “The ROC confirmed that it does not and will not carry out any activities in these territories. The IOC Executive Board will continue to closely monitor the situation relating to any ROC activities in those territories and reserves the right to take additional measures if deemed necessary.”
Doping scandals
In addition to Russia’s ostracism over the Ukraine war, its athletes’ return to competition comes against the backdrop of one of the most damaging doping scandals in Olympic history.
The country has been under scrutiny since a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2015 found evidence of systematic doping in Russian athletics, followed by findings that there was a state-sponsored cover-up surrounding the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Russia was banned from competing under its flag at several subsequent Games, with many athletes admitted only as neutrals, with Wada imposing a four-year ban in 2019 after Moscow was found to have manipulated laboratory data, a sanction later reduced to two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Russian officials have repeatedly denied the existence of a state-backed doping program.
“We ask to ensure that adequate testing is carried out for Russian athletes arriving at the LA28 Games,” Coventry said.
