Two-thirds of Russian athletes approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete in the Paris Olympics as a neutral country have voiced support for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine or have ties to the military, according to a new report.
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), 15 Russians and 16 Belarusians have accepted invitations to compete as neutrals in the Paris Games, which begin on July 26.
Athletes from both countries were banned from world sport following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but the IOC has been overseeing their gradual return as a neutral party under strict conditions.
Global Rights Compliance, a Hague-based human rights foundation, said in a report that 10 of the 15 Russian players were found to have violated the “participation principle” as neutral athletes.
“Despite being presented with clear evidence of violations by Global Rights Compliance, the IOC failed to act in accordance with its own rules,” the group said.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
In a statement to AFP, the IOC said it could not comment on individual cases or the decisions of the review committee.
“The athletes were assessed in accordance with the decisions of the IOC Executive Board and established principles. We have nothing further to add.”
According to a report released Thursday by the law firm, Russian cyclist Alena Ivanchenko in March 2022 “liked” a social media post that featured a photo of dictator Joseph Stalin with the caption “A truce is possible after destroying the enemy.”
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
The report found that cyclist Tamara Dronova had violated two rules: having ties to state security agencies and publicly engaging in pro-war behaviour.
Canoeist Olesya Lomashenko is a member of the Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces (CSKA), Russia's sports organisation under the Ministry of Defense.
Other Russian athletes mentioned in the report are canoeist Alexei Kolovashkov, swimmer Evgeny Somov, trampoline gymnast Angela Bulatcheva and tennis players Mila Andreyeva, Pavel Kotov, Diana Shneider and Elena Vesnina.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
Vesnina reportedly liked posts about “military feats” in which Russian troops killed Ukrainians, as well as posts that displayed the letter “Z” in support of war.
It was also found that several of the 16 Belarusian athletes had violated eligibility rules.
There was no immediate reaction from the Russian and Belarusian Olympic committees.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
“If the IOC's stated goal is to 'build a better world through sport,' then it must take action to demonstrate that it and its companies go beyond just paying lip service to ethics and human rights for all,” said Wayne Jourdas, president of Global Rights Compliance.
The group said it had alerted the IOC's corporate partners, including Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Visa, Deloitte, Panasonic and Carrefour, to its findings, adding that “they may be unwittingly complicit in supporting Russia's criminal military actions.”
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, around 450 Ukrainian athletes have been killed on the battlefield.
To be invited to the Olympics, “neutral individual athletes” who performed well enough to qualify had to pass a double check.
This was done first by the international sports federations and then by the IOC to ensure that they were not actively supporting the war in Ukraine and did not have any ties to their country's military.
