DIRECTOR of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) James Macleod announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes who will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics under a neutral flag will not be able to take part in the opening ceremony of the world sports event.
“Neutral Individual Athletes (AINs) from both countries will not take part in the parade of delegates and teams at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics because they represent themselves,” Macleod said following a meeting of the IOC executive board in Laussane.
“However, they will still be able to feel the atmosphere of the opening ceremony,” he continued.
AINs athletes can attend the opening ceremony but will not take part in the boat parade on the River Seine on July 26.
Macleod said the scenario used was the same as the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when there were AINs from countries that were part of Yugoslavia.
“The decision regarding the participation of the AINs in the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics will be made later, taking into account that those taking part in the event are not the team but all the athletes,” explained Macleod.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus have been banned from taking part in the opening ceremonies of the Paralympics, which will be held from August 28 in Paris, two weeks following the Games end.
The IOC, last December, banned Russia from taking part in the 2024 Paris Olympics but gave the green light for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutral athletes as long as they did not support the invasion of Ukraine. (AFP/Z-1)
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