Russian athletes were only permitted to compete at the Bei- jing 2022 Winter Olympics – which took place prior to the in- vasion of Ukraine – as Team ROC due to a ban on Russia over
doping violations
The International Olympic Committee’s executive board has
suspended the Russian Olympic Committee “with immediate
effect until further notice”.
The move comes after the ROC recognised regional organ- isations from four Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by
Russia since its full-scale invasion began in 2022.
The IOC said last Thursday’s recognition was “a breach of
the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity
of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine”.
The suspension means the ROC “is no longer entitled to op-
erate as a National Olympic Committee” and “cannot receive
any funding from the Olympic movement”.
Olympic Councils from the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk,
Kherson and Zaporizhzhia had been recognised by the ROC.
The IOC added it would decide whether Russian athletes
could compete as neutrals at Paris 2024 “at the appropriate
time”.
In response, the ROC called the suspension “another coun-
terproductive decision with obvious political motivations”.
The IOC did not initially sanction the ROC following the in-
vasion, but Russia has been banned from competing as a nation
in athletics since November 2015 after state-sponsored doping
was uncovered.
Russia’s doping suspension was lifted in March but the
World Athletics Council ruled the nation would remain banned
“for the foreseeable future” because of the war in Ukraine.
The IOC has been under consistent pressure to ban Russian
and Belarusian athletes from competing even under a neutral
flag since the invasion began.But in March it told sporting
federations they should allow athletes from those countries to
compete as neutrals.
Ukraine has threatened to boycott next year’s Games in Paris
if a full ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes is not upheld.