The world of sport has become even more complicated since Russia attacked Ukraine. Which athletes from the country of the aggressor are allowed to compete in which sport? And what about the Olympics? IOC President Thomas Bach has a solution in mind.
Vladimir Putin is sending more and more Russian compatriots to the front – including top athletes. In the tense world situation, IOC President Thomas Bach wants to go the opposite way: he makes the chance of starting the Olympics palatable to activists who distance themselves from warmonger Putin. “Our goal is that athletes with a Russian passport who do not support the war can take part in competitions again,” Bach said in an interview with the “Corriere della Sera”.
The war of aggression against the Ukraine was “certainly not started by Russian athletes,” Bach justified this attitude. Athletes who distance themselves from the regime should “be able to compete under a neutral flag,” explained the 68-year-old. Implementing this idea, however, is “not easy”.
The head of the International Olympic Committee pointed to a “major discrepancy at the political level in relation to our decisions”. Some governments have decided on their own initiative to refuse Russian athletes entry into their territory, Bach said. Others forbid their athletes to compete with Russians. Some countries, on the other hand, did not feel able to guarantee their security, Bach continued.
The IOC boss does not mention another problem: How are athletes in Russia supposed to state their “No” to the Putin system clearly and credibly without risking their lives in the current tense phase? The question almost inevitably arises as to how concrete and how feasible Bach’s vision is.
As is so often the case for the German, the IOC’s “peace mission” is at stake, and this is currently “stalled”. The Russian and Belarusian athletes footed the bill, said the 1976 Olympic champion, who downplayed his own influence in clarifying this matter: “Those who ask me how the IOC will behave towards the Russians with regard to the next Olympic Games and whether it will line them up or not, I answer, ‘Who am I to know that?'”
Athletes from Russia and the military ally Belarus were largely banned from international sport on the recommendation of the IOC in response to the invasion of Ukraine at the end of February. In addition, the Rings organization instructed the international sports federations to withdraw all events from both countries. This official position remains unchanged. “It was the right decision, but it doesn’t solve our dilemma,” said Bach during his visit to Italy.
Susanne Lyons, chairwoman of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), revealed in mid-September “that the IOC is considering whether there is a way back for Russian athletes”. At the time, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) confirmed the inclusion of the discussion when asked by SID. The topic was “the subject of a call between the IOC and the National Olympic Committees”. The summer games in Paris will only start in less than two years, but qualifying competitions are on the program well before that.
