When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, dozens of countries, international groups, and world leaders quickly spoke out against the war. One of these organizations was the International Olympic Committee.
During the war, the IOC condemned Russia’s actions and called for an immediate end to the conflict. The IOC also established a Solidarity Fund to raise money for Ukrainian athletes and their families, and the organization raised millions of dollars through this effort.
Then, as the IOC prepared for the 2024 Olympic Games, it imposed restrictions on the Russian Federation. The organization stated that Russian athletes who “actively support the war cannot compete” at the Olympics. Furthermore, men and women with Russian or Belarusian passports would be forced to compete as individual neutral athletes.
In addition, athletes “contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies cannot compete” at the Games. Those entering this summer’s competition would be forced to participate under a neutral banner.
Finally, Russian and Belarusian athletes were not allowed to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies of the competition. Throughout the Games, they were rarely in the spotlight.
According to Global Rights Compliance, a human rights group, ten Russians and seven Belarusians who competed in this year’s Olympics had violated “rules on neutrality regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” Global Rights Compliance had found that these athletes in question had showed their support for Russia’s invasion. While this international group presented this evidence to the IOC, the sporting organization chose to ignore the warnings.
Similarly, the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Sport of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine called for the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes, constantly citing the links between these competitors and their participation in Russia’s ongoing war. The IOC ignored these statements.
As a result, the IOC was played by some of these Russian athletes. Two of these individuals were tennis players. During the Games, Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider were the first two Russians to earn Olympic medals at the 2024 Games. (Russia would only win two medals throughout the entire competition.)
Putin, Lukashenka cheerleaders become “neutral athletes” for Olympics
Andreeva and Shnaider received silver medals in the women’s doubles in tennis. While they claimed to be competing as neutrals, these women were far from being bystanders.
According to several reports, Mirra Andreeva is a supporter of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. She has liked social media posts supporting atrocities committed in Ukraine. Andreeva is also a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, during their post-match interviews, Shnaider ignored questions about Russia’s neutrality status during the Games. She also refused to comment on inquiries about the ban on the Russian flag and the Russian anthem at this summer’s competition.
These two women were not the only Russian athletes supporting Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine while competing at the 2024 Olympics.
According to Reuters, Russian cyclist Alyona Ivanchenko previously liked social media posts questioning Ukraine’s right to exist. Tennis player Elena Vesnina liked posts displaying the Russian “Z” symbol during the Russian war. Meanwhile, canoeist Aleksei Korovashkov has been linked with Russian national security agencies. There are several other Russian athletes from similar backgrounds who participated in this year’s competition.
In addition, the Russian Federation has celebrated its participation in this summer’s Games. The Russian government used its athletes as propaganda points in attempts to show the world Russia’s power and might.
In short, the IOC failed to enforce its restrictions on Russian athletes. The organization allowed supporters of Russia’s war to participate in this summer’s competition, and these athletes have made a mockery of the Games.
Given this failure, the IOC should learn from this blunder and take action to prevent Russian men and women from participating in future Olympic competitions. Fully barring these athletes will send a clear message to the Russian Federation that the organization condemns its ongoing and unjust war in Ukraine. Its actions cannot be normalized.
That would send a message to other authoritarian countries around the world, suggesting that their athletes can compete at the Games while their governments commit atrocities. This would tarnish the Games and allow aggressive countries to run rampant. This cannot be allowed to happen.
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