Neither Russia nor Ukraine will boycott the Summer Olympics in Paris, TASS quoted International Olympic Committee (IOC) head Thomas Bach as saying.
According to Bach, the discussion on the admission of athletes from Russia to the Olympics is over. According to him, opinions still sound different: some say that sanctions against those who violated the Olympic Charter are excessive, while others say they are insufficient.
“It’s usually an indication that everything has been done well. If both sides are not 100 percent happy, then you have made the right decision”, Bach said.
The Summer Olympics, which will be the 33rd edition, will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024. Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete at them in a neutral status, only in single sports and only if they are not affiliated with military or security agencies. Russian national teams in some sports refused to participate under such conditions.
Last week, on March 19, the IOC said that 55 Russian athletes would qualify for the Olympics. Now twelve of them have already qualified. The names and sports are not specified, but among them may be wrestlers, judokas, taekwondists, tennis players and rowers: earlier the federations of these sports allowed Russians to participate in international competitions despite Russian aggression in Ukraine.
