The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) no longer recommends any restrictions on the participation of Belarusian athletes, including teams, in competitions governed by International Federations (IFs) and international sports event organisers. The IOC EB today lifted the recommended conditions of participation for International Federations and international sports event organisers of 28 February 2022 and 28 March 2023 as they relate to Belarus and Belarusian athletes, including the protective measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is the reasoning and why now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the IOC continues to navigate the ever-increasing complex realities and consequences of the current geopolitical context, including the rising number of wars and conflicts, and amidst growing global instability, it must uphold its mission to preserve a values-based and truly global sporting platform that provides hope to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This objective has been reaffirmed through the wide-ranging discussions that have taken place as part of the \u201cFit for the Future\u201d process, during which the fundamental right of athletes to access sport and compete free from political interference or governmental pressure was confirmed by the IOC Executive Board in September 2025 and reaffirmed at the Olympic Summit in December 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The IOC reaffirms that athletes\u2019 participation in international competition should not be limited by the actions of their governments, including involvement in a war or conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the issuance of the IOC recommendations for IFs and international sports event organisers on 28 March 2023, athletes with a Belarusian passport have participated as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) in numerous international sporting events, as well as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, without any incident on or off the field of play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, the IOC recognises that the qualification period for both the LA28 Olympic Games and the Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games starts this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why does the IOC decision not apply to athletes with a Russian passport?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The situation relating to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is different from that relating to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus. The NOC of Belarus is in good standing and complies with the Olympic Charter. Whilst the ROC has held constructive exchanges with the IOC on its suspension, it remains suspended while the IOC Legal Affairs Commission continues to review the matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The IOC EB also noted with concern the recent information that has led to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) looking into the Russian anti-doping system. The IOC EB would therefore like to obtain a better understanding of this situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) no longer recommends any restrictions on the participation of Belarusian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[70,71],"class_list":["post-12630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","tag-ioc","tag-olympics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t