The International Olympic Committee temporarily lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee on Tuesday, marking an important step in Russia’s return to Olympic competition ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the ROC was established in October 2023 with the recognition of regional Olympic councils in the Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine – Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
The IOC said on Tuesday its executive board lifted the suspension, which will allow Russian athletes to return to many international competitions, including the LA28 Olympic qualifiers, but it has not yet decided whether Russia can display its flag and colors or whether its anthem will be played in these games.
“We do not support any wars, including this one. We will continue to support Ukraine since we started this. But I do not believe that the athletes should pay,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry in a press conference. “We don’t want to make the athletes responsible for the actions of their government.”
The decision marks the latest move by the IOC to slow Russia’s return to international sport after urging federations in December to re-educate young Russian and Belarusian athletes (under the age of 23).
“We have made it clear that all athletes have the opportunity to participate in the Olympics. This is what this decision is about. We allow Russian athletes to participate in sports competitions. We think it is very important that athletes have that opportunity,” said Coventry.
Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev said the IOC’s decision should pave the way for Russian athletes to fully return to the international stage.
“The return of our country to the Olympic family is a green light for the international federations to return all our athletes,” said Degtyarev.
Russian athletes are competing as neutrals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games.
‘Shameful decision’
But there was criticism, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calling the decision ‘worrisome’ and urging the countries hosting the championships to uphold the ban on symbols of the Russian state.
Ukrainian sprinter Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified from the 2026 Winter Olympics because of a helmet bearing a message about Ukraine, told Reuters the IOC’s decision was “absolutely disgraceful”.
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A group of lawyers led by Global Athlete and FairSport said the decision showed little accountability by the IOC amid the ongoing conflict.
“This decision represents a significant departure from the principles of Olympism. By accepting Russia back into the Olympic fold despite its history of state-sponsored doping and the ongoing war with Ukraine, the IOC has chosen to rewrite, to lower, its standards of accountability to stakeholders,” they said in a joint statement.
Fragmented participation?
This decision, however, is unlikely to trigger full participation of Russian athletes in all sports, with many international federations still maintaining different restrictions on them.
The World Athletics Council last week confirmed its decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from the international competition, four years after it first imposed sanctions for the attack on Ukraine.
World Athletics has voted to end the Russian Athletics Federation’s eight-year doping ban in 2023 but a separate ban on Ukraine’s attacks has barred its athletes.
Many other international alliances have similar configurations in place.
Asked if the IOC’s decision could lead to the participation of Russian athletes ahead of the LA Olympics, Coventry said: “We don’t foresee any patchwork.”
Olympic qualifying events have already taken place in some sports and most of them have started their qualifying events later in 2026 and 2027.
The IOC had said when it lifted its ban in 2023 that Russia considers regional Olympic councils in the occupied parts of Ukraine to have violated the Olympic Charter and the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee.
On Tuesday it said: “The ROC has confirmed that it does not, and will not, carry out any activities in these areas. The IOC EB will continue to closely monitor the situation related to any ROC activities in those areas, and reserves the right to take further action if deemed necessary.”
Despite Russia being ostracized for its invasion of Ukraine, the return of its athletes to the competition coincides with 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 found evidence of organized doping in Russian athletics, followed by findings that a government-sponsored cover-up was carried out during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The IOC said all Russian athletes now returning to international competition will have to meet the appropriate anti-doping requirements.
Russia was banned from competing under its flag at several subsequent Games, with many athletes only allowed as neutrals, and WADA imposed a four-year ban in 2019 after Moscow was found to have laboratory data – which was 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 screening is done for Russian athletes coming to the LA28 Games,” Coventry said.
