Russians can qualify for Olympic spots in some sports. That doesn’t mean they’ll be allowed in Paris

JAMES ELLINGWORTH

A year before the Paris Olympics, and nearly a year-and-a-half since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, officials governing many of the sports on the 2024 program are still split on how to treat Russian athletes.

Increasingly, various governing bodies are allowing them back into Olympic qualifying competitions as neutral competitors without national flags or anthems. Most sports initially barred Russians from competing soon after last year’s full-scale invasion.

The International Olympic Committee strongly backs those moves even as the body itself says it hasn’t decided if athletes from Russia and ally Belarus can compete at the Paris Games. However, the IOC has delayed action on the one sport whose qualification it runs in-house, boxing.

Most of the sports which have allowed Russians to return also followed IOC advice on its preferred name — “individual neutral athletes” — and to keep barring those who are under contract with the military