IOC advises sports bodies to end vetting of Russian athletes for neutral status

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The IOC advised Olympic sports bodies on Tuesday to end a three-year program vetting Russians for neutral status ahead of qualifying events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The move was expected since the International Olympic Committee advised two months ago that athletes from Belarus, Russia's military ally in the full military invasion of Ukraine, should be allowed again to compete with their full national identity.

"The IOC stands in solidarity with the Olympic community of Ukraine, which the Olympic movement has supported since the beginning of the war, and will continue to do so," the Olympic body said in a statement after a meeting of its executive board.

The IOC eased entry requirements to its own events for Russian athletes and teams while provisionally lifting its suspension since October 2023 of the Russian Olympic Committee.

The terms of that suspension — imposed when the Russian Olympic body incorporated regional sports councils from occupied regions of Ukraine — no longer applied, the IOC said.

Just 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics as approved neutrals, and combined to win five medals. The Russian team had more than 300 athletes at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and won 71 medals.

The IOC did not yet approve letting Russian athletes and teams compete with their flag and anthem. That decision will come "at an appropriate time," it said.

The next Olympic competition is the 2026 Youth Summer Games in Dakar, Senegal opening Oct. 31.

The IOC said to "address the lack of confidence in the global sporting community relating to the return of Russian athletes to international competition," those athletes must give multiple doping controls and be part of a recognized testing program.