The International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee on Tuesday, marking a significant step towards Russia’s reintegration into the Olympic fold ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
After the beginning of the Ukraine War in February 2022, the ROC was suspended in October 2023 to recognize regional Olympic councils of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
The IOC said its executive board had lifted the suspension but had not yet decided whether Russia could display its flag, its colors or have its anthem played at the Games.
It insisted it would continue to support Ukraine.
“We do not tolerate any wars, including this one. We will continue to support Ukraine as we have since this started. But I don’t think athletes should pay the price,” IOC president Kirsty Coventry told a news conference.
“We don’t want to hold athletes accountable for the actions of their government.”
“We made it clear that all athletes had the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games. That’s what this decision speaks to. It gives Russian athletes the opportunity to compete in sports. We thought it was really important for athletes to have that opportunity,” Coventry said.
She added that the IOC will continue to monitor Russia closely.
There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine.
Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev said the IOC’s decision should pave the way for Russian athletes to return to the international sports scene.
“Our country’s return to the Olympic family is a green light for international federations to reinstate all our athletes,” Degtyarev said.
Russian athletes competed as neutrals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.
In imposing its ban in 2023, the IOC had said Russia’s recognition of regional Olympic councils in parts of Ukraine violated the Olympic Charter and the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee.
On Tuesday, it said: “The ROC confirmed that it does not and will not carry out any activities in these territories. The IOC EB will continue to closely monitor the situation regarding any ROC activities in these territories, and reserves the right to take further action if deemed necessary.”
Doping scandals
In addition to Russia being ostracized because of the Ukraine war, its athletes’ return to competition comes against the backdrop of one of the most damaging doping scandals in Olympic history.
The country has been under scrutiny since a 2015 report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) found evidence of systematic doping in Russian athletics, followed by findings that a state-sponsored cover-up operated around the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Russia was banned from competing under its flag at several subsequent Games, with many athletes only entered as neutrals, and Wada imposed a four-year ban in 2019 after Moscow was found to have tampered with laboratory data – a sanction later cut to two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Russian officials have repeatedly denied the existence of a state-sponsored doping program.
“We are asking to ensure that adequate testing is carried out on Russian athletes coming to the LA28 Games,” Coventry said.
