The IOC opens up to “exploring ways” for the return of the Russians

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is “exploring ways” for the organization’s “unifying mission” to prevail over the politicization of sport, the president said on Wednesday. Thomas Bacha statement that opens the door for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to international competitions, from which they were excluded after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

After “four hours of debate” at the IOC Executive Commission, meeting in Lausanne (Switzerland), and after an appearance in front of the press where he alluded to the United Nations and the G-20, Bach said that the sanctions on Russian authorities will continue to stand “firmly”, but he added that they are studying the way to “overcome” the contradiction that discriminates against athletes “just because of their passport”.

The Olympic Summit held this Friday, in which the Russian Olympic Committee will participate, is the next meeting where a solution to this issue will be sought.

“Athletes cannot be punished for what their governments do,” Bach said, drawing a line between sanctions imposed against the Russian and Belarusian authorities, which prevent them from represent their country in sporting events or organizing competitions in their territory, and the exception. of its athletes from international competitions.

“This is not part of the sanctions, but rather a protective measure to safeguard the integrity of the competition and the athletes themselves,” he explained. “Some governments wanted to decide who could or could not participate, they threatened not to grant visas, or would not let their athletes participate” in which the Russians and Belarusians participated, the president explained.

“We had to act against our own principles,” he stressed. “But the Olympic Movement should be a unifying force, not a dividing one,” he added.

For this reason, he said, the Executive’s “unanimous mandate” for Friday’s Olympic Summit was to encourage him to continue looking for a path to that union.

Bach read a letter received from a United Nations department in charge of cases of discrimination and racism, expressing “serious concern” about the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians from competitions based on their nationality.

“We are exploring ways to fulfill our unifying mission. All we have done so far is consult with the federations, who will be at the Summit and who we will continue to talk to at the beginning of the year,” he summarized of the president.

“There is no change in our position,” he defended. “Today we say again that the sanctions must continue. But regarding protective measures for athletes, we have to find a way to overcome that dilemma.”

“Do we still need to protect the integrity of international competitions? That’s what we have to look at,” he added.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, between the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, the IOC deemed the “Olympic truce” broken, separating Russian government authorities and its ally Belarus from all representation in sports and banned Russian athletes. flag and their anthem to compete.

In practice, the proposal led to the exclusion of these athletes from most competitions, due to the threat of a veto from other participants or pressure from governments. The professional tennis circuit was the main exception, although Thomas Bach now referred critically to the “intervention of the British government” which prevented the participation of Russian and Belarusian tennis players in the Wimbledon tournament.