The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, the organization’s executive board announced Tuesday.
The suspension, which had been in place since October 2023, prevented the ROC from operating as a recognized national Olympic committee and receiving funding from the IOC. Just 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics as individual neutral athletes.
The ROC’s suspension was due to its recognition of regional Olympic councils in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, including Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. The IOC said “following a thorough analysis by the IOC’s Legal Affairs Commission,” it determined the ROC no longer includes sports organizations from those territories and has pledged not to conduct activities there. The governing body said it will continue monitoring the ROC and could impose additional measures if necessary.
The decision was made in part because the qualification periods opened for both the LA28 Olympic Games and the Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games. The IOC in the announcement said it considered “the need to offer equal access to these competitions to all athletes.”
LA28 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
All Russian athletes returning to international competition must meet anti-doping requirements. Russia has separately faced other Olympic restrictions since 2016, when a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation uncovered a state-sponsored doping program and cover-up. That investigation led to more than 110 Russian athletes banned ahead of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, though the IOC did not ban all Russians from participating.
Tuesday’s decision does not guarantee that Russia’s flag, anthem, colors, or other national identifiers will be permitted at future Olympic events; that decision “is at the discretion of each [international federation] and international sports event organiser.” The IOC has also not yet determined whether Russian athletes will be permitted to represent their country at future Games or will continue competing as individual neutral athletes. In the announcement, the IOC said lifting the ROC’s suspension did not mean the governing body changed its stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The IOC stands in solidarity with the Olympic community of Ukraine, which the Olympic Movement has supported since the beginning of the war, and will continue to do so,” the organization said in its press release.
The next Olympic competition is the 2026 Youth Summer Games in Dakar, Senegal, beginning October 31.
