The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken a significant step towards reintegrating Russian and Belarusian athletes into global sports, advising governing bodies to allow their youth teams and athletes to compete under their national flags and anthems.
In a statement, the IOC asserted that athletes possess "a fundamental right to access sport across the world, and to compete free from political interference or pressure from governmental organizations." This directive comes less than three years before the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.
The updated strategy emerged from an Olympic Summit chaired by IOC president Kirsty Coventry. The IOC acknowledged that implementation "will take time," with each sport’s governing body responsible for defining youth events. This easing of sporting isolation could extend to the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, scheduled for October next year.
Russian teams have been fully excluded from international competitions since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, Russian and Belarusian athletes in winter sports are already beginning to return under neutral status ahead of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026.
