The IOC responded to Ukraine's request to review the neutral status of Russian athletes

According to glavcom.ua: The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kirsty Coventry, responded to journalist Kostiantyn Varvaryk's question about the possibility of revising the mechanism for allowing neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in the 2026 Olympics. This was reported by the publication 'Glavkom' citing Tribuna.

IOC Commission's Decision on Athlete Neutrality

Paris-2024 went ahead without Russian provocations due to the proper work of the neutrality determination commission. Unfortunately, we see that currently three out of three participants recognized as neutral for the 2026 Olympics do not actually meet the criteria, and two of them somewhat support the war.

I understand that you cannot comment on individual cases. But have you considered mechanisms for reviewing the commission's decisions? Perhaps it is worth involving representatives of Ukraine in the evidence-gathering process? I understand that the issue of an athlete's neutrality is a matter of relations between the IOC and the athlete, but the wrong decision, after all, affects not the IOC, but Ukrainian athletes who will have to live and compete alongside people who wish them death.

Transparency and Ukraine's Participation in IOC Decision-Making Process

So, as you said at the beginning, the process used for Paris was successful. And this same process is indeed what we are using now.

So, of course, if you have new information, please feel free to send it to us. Here with me is James McLeod - we can review everything, but AINERP and our working group are those who make the final decision in this process. And we are genuinely looking forward to seeing a strong Ukrainian team.

Neutral Athletes in Propaganda Activities

Let us remind you, Russian figure skater Oleksandra Saitina, who was recognized as a neutral athlete by the International Skating Union (ISU), was present at the annual address of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to the Federal Assembly.

The Russian figure skater was also seen in the video broadcast of the event, where she participated alongside other attendees together with Putin's associates and military personnel involved in the war against Ukraine. Participation in such events contradicts the IOC's principles regarding neutral athletes.

Preparation for the 2026 Olympics

The 2026 Olympics will take place from February 6 to 22 in Italy.

The IOC responded to questions regarding the participation of Russian athletes in the upcoming 2026 Olympics, noting that currently three out of three neutral athletes assigned to the competitions do not meet the established criteria, and two of them even support the war. It was also noted that the IOC hopes for a transparent and fair process in determining Olympic participants and encourages sending new data for discussion.