Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo believes that Russian athletes have the right to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games, which will be held in the French capital. She stated this on January 26 on the air of the France 2 TV channel.
“I think this is an important moment for athletes and that athletes should not be denied competition. But I think and ask, like most of the sports community, that the delegation [из РФ] did not perform under the Russian flag, ”Hidalgo explained.
She also expressed hope that by the time the Olympics began, the conflict in Ukraine would have ended.
On January 25, the IOC announced that they would consider the possibility of allowing Russian athletes who do not support a special military operation (SVO) to compete in a neutral status, Sport-Express reports.
In response, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, said that even the wording of the initiative turned out to be too much politics, which “should be alien” to the ideas of the Olympic family.
In early December last year, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the need for the presence of all countries at the Olympics 2024, including those that are in a state of conflict.
In the same month, the official representative of the International Olympic Committee, Mark Adams, recalled that the organization’s executive committee upheld sanctions and protective measures against Russian and Belarusian athletes.
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee recommended that international sports federations prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international competitions due to the situation around the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
The XXXIII Summer Olympic Games will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
