Paris Olympics: just 40 Russian athletes could compete at Games this summer, says IOC’s Coates
- International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates is unsure how many Russians will compete as neutral athletes
- Some sports have banned athletes altogether because of their country’s invasion of Ukraine
Senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president John Coates is unsure how many Russians will compete as neutral athletes at the Paris Games, but thinks reports it might be as low as 40 could be close to the mark.
Under sanctions put in place because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, for which Belarus acted as a staging post, the IOC is allowing only some Russian and Belarussian athletes to compete in Paris under tight restrictions.
The inclusion of the neutral athletes remains a contentious issue, with Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba describing December’s decision to allow them as “shameful”, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo saying last week she hoped they would not come.
“The issue is how many of them are going to be there too, because they’re not going to be in any team sports because they can’t compete as Russia,” Coates said in Sunday’s edition of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.
“And then anyone who is prepared out of the Russian military clubs, they’re not going. I don’t know, but obviously some athletes might choose not to go if they’re not competing for Russia.
“I mightn’t be right, but I think that I’ve read something that it might be as little as 40.”
