The International Olympic Committee lifted restrictions on Russian athletes on Tuesday, clearing them to compete in team events and qualifying competitions for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, while keeping some conditions in place.
Meeting in Lausanne, the IOC maintained its ban on playing the Russian national anthem or displaying the Russian flag for now, and said returning athletes must pass multiple doping tests before being cleared to compete. The accompanying statement gave individual sports federations discretion to decide whether to allow the flag and anthem at their own events, or whether to host competitions inside Russia at all. On the Olympics specifically, with Los Angeles still two years away, the IOC said it would decide on the flag, anthem, colours and other national identifiers closer to the Games.
Russia welcomed the move. Sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev said the decision showed the Olympic movement staying free of politics, confirming Russia intends to take part in qualifiers for the 2028 Games. Even so, Russia’s return remains more restricted than Belarus’s, which the IOC reinstated without any anthem or flag restrictions back in early May.
The multiple-testing requirement is aimed at addressing what the IOC called a lack of confidence following a string of Russian doping scandals, with the committee stating that any athlete newly returning to international competition must be tested repeatedly beforehand.
The original ban dates back to October 2023, more than 18 months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, triggered when the Russian Olympic Committee moved to include sports organisations from annexed Ukrainian territories as members. In Tuesday’s statement, the IOC noted the ROC has confirmed it does not and will not conduct activities in those territories, and said it would continue monitoring the situation closely. The committee added that it condemns wars, armed conflicts and violence that cause human suffering wherever they occur.
