The Worldwide Olympic Committee has prolonged invites to 4 Russian and Belarusian swimmers to compete within the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games as impartial athletes.
Russian swimmer Evgenii Somov and Belarusian swimmers Alina Zmushka, Ilya Shymanovich, and Anastasiya Shkurdai are all listed as “eligible and invited athletes” with a Russian or Belarusian passport.
Russia and Belarus have been formally barred from the Olympic Video games after the nations collaborated on a 2022 invasion of neighboring Ukraine that has thus far brought about lots of of hundreds of casualties.
Russia appealed the banishment to the Courtroom of Arbitration for Sport, but it surely was upheld not on the grounds of the CAS taking a stance on the struggle, however slightly on the premise of Russia annexing Ukrainian sporting organizations, which it decided to be a violation of the Olympic Constitution:
“An NOC can solely train territorial jurisdiction inside the limits of the boundary of an unbiased State recognised by the worldwide group.
“It follows that, if the worldwide group recognises the Areas as a part of Ukraine, then the ROC’s choice to confess sports activities organisations from these areas as members violated the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian NOC, as protected by [Olympic Charter] Rule 28.5 and Rule 30.1.”
The IOC did provide an avenue for particular person athletes (not groups) to take part within the Olympic Video games, nonetheless, underneath the moniker of “Particular person Impartial Athletes,” additionally known as “AINs” through the acronym for a similar phrase in French.
The appliance of neutrality guidelines was largely left as much as the sporting federations, and there have been different athletes permitted who finally weren’t chosen as qualifiers.
That features US-based Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, who didn’t hit an Olympic Qualifying Time, Belaursian swimmer Anastasiya Kuliashova, Belarusian swimmer Grigori Pekarski, and Belarusian swimmer Ruslan Skamaroshka.
Additionally they permitted neutrality for 3 Belarusian creative swimmers, together with one for so-called ‘Excessive-Danger World Aquatics competitions’ just like the Olympic Video games: Vasilina Khandoshka. There aren’t any solo occasions in synchronized swimming on the Olympic Video games, although she could be eligible for the World Championships, for instance.
No divers, water polo gamers, or creative swimmers had been permitted and invited.
“The AIN quotas had been decided on the sector of play by way of the prevailing qualification competitions and the precise eligibility necessities of the Worldwide Federations (IFs),” the IOC mentioned.
Among the many necessities for athletes to take part as neutrals is signature of the identical Situations of Participation as all athletes competing on the Video games, which “comprises a dedication to respect the Olympic constitution, together with “the peace mission of the Olympic Motion.”
Whereas the doc has been described as a “declaration of neutrality,” it doesn’t point out Russia, Belarus, or the struggle in Ukraine particularly, and is signed by all athletes taking part within the Olympic Video games. The doc additionally comprises clauses requiring athletes to comply with social media pointers, not manipulate competitors, and observe anti-doping guidelines.
Further guidelines for neutrality additionally preclude athletes from taking part if they’ve publicly spoken in favor of the struggle, as was the case for Evgeny Rylov, or if they’re affiliated with the Russian or Belarusian navy, which is the case for a lot of Russian athletes who prepare with one of many nation’s most profitable athletic golf equipment that’s affiliated with the nation’s navy.
All 4 swimmers deemed eligible to compete by the IOC have hit Olympic Qualifying Instances within the qualification interval.
Evgenii Somov turned a shock contender within the males’s 100 breaststroke in Might in Atlanta when he swam a Russian Report of 58.72 on the Atlanta Basic. He had beforehand by no means damaged a minute in that race.
Anastasia Shkurdai gained a bronze medal within the 200 again on the lightly-attended World Championships in 2024.
Ilya Shymanovich is the present World Report holder within the 100 breast briefly course meters and has been as quick as 58.29 in lengthy course. That swim was in 2019, although a 58.41 in April 2023 confirmed that he’s nonetheless able to quick swims as he approaches his thirtieth birthday.
Alina Zmushka is one other breaststroker who in 2023 went a finest time of 1:06.44 within the 100 and at Worlds this 12 months swam 2:24.14 within the 200 breast within the semi-finals.
As of July 3, 43 athletes (27 Russian and 16 Belarusian) are nonetheless eligible for the Video games, having been each invited and both accepting, or not but declining, a spot within the Video games.
| Russia | Belarus | |
| Highway Biking | 3 | 1 |
| Gymnastics – Trampoline | 1 | 2 |
| Taekwondo | 1 | 0 |
| Weightlifting | 0 | 2 |
| Wrestling | 9 | 1 |
| Rowing | 0 | 2 |
| Taking pictures | 0 | 2 |
| Tennis | 6 | 1 |
| Canoe | 2 | 2 |
| Judo | 4 | 0 |
| Swimming | 1 | 3 |
| Whole | 27 | 16 |
14 invited athletes, together with 6 of the 7 invited Belarusian wrestlers, declined their participation. It’s unclear whether or not the athletes are receiving funding to attend the Video games or not. Among the many excessive profile athletes to say no a spot embody Belarusian tennis participant Aryna Sabalenka, a former World #1-ranked participant and four-time Main Champion, despite talking publicly in opposition to the struggle and Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko. Earlier in her profession, she had made political statements in help of Lukashenko, inflicting controversy at residence.
Russian officers have repeatedly mentioned in public that it’s as much as the athletes to determine in the event that they wish to take part within the Video games.
