GENEVA (AP) 鈥� Russia moved closer Tuesday toward having a full team with its national flag and anthem at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted of the Russian Olympic Committee and to end a three-year program where Russian athletes had to be vetted for permission to compete as neutrals.
The IOC said the timing was because qualifying events are starting for the L.A. games, and 鈥渢he need to offer equal access to these competitions to all athletes.鈥�
The move, which also signals a return for Russia in team sports, was expected since the IOC advised two months ago that athletes from Belarus, which was Russia鈥檚 ally when its started in 2022, to compete with their full national identity.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to hold athletes accountable for the actions of their governments,鈥� IOC president Kirsty Coventry said at an online news conference after she chaired an executive board meeting.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist swimming for Zimbabwe, Coventry said it was a fair decision and noted: 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be sitting here if I had to pay the price when my country was going through things and being sanctioned.鈥�
Ukraine’s sports minister Matvii Bidnyi questioned why the IOC altered its rules when in the war 鈥渘othing changed. The situation became even worse.鈥�
Russia at Ukraine early Monday, killing at least 22 people.
鈥淪o we don鈥檛 understand it,鈥� Bidnyi told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. “In this day, when all of Ukraine (is) in a day of mourning, when our flags was a little bit lower because of so many people, peaceful, our peaceful citizens was killed yesterday at night.鈥�
The IOC also reiterated its 鈥渟olidarity with the Olympic community of Ukraine鈥� and ongoing financial support.
Barriers remain
The IOC’s guidance to reintegrate Russians in international events is not binding for the governing bodies of individual sports.
鈥淥ur country鈥檚 return to the Olympic family is a green light for international federations to restore the rights of our athletes,鈥� Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov said Tuesday.
Track and field is not following suit.
Asked about the IOC鈥檚 decision, World Athletics referred the AP to its decision last week maintaining a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes in its international events.
In soccer, FIFA and European body UEFA have in competitions like the World Cup and Champions League, avoiding likely chaos because teams from other countries would refused to play those games.
Russian athletes and teams likely will face issues getting entry visas from some countries hosting sports events.
Russia’s return
Among top-tier Olympic sports, swimming’s governing body on Russian athletes in April.
The ROC was suspended in 2023 when the Russian Olympic body incorporated regional sports councils from occupied regions of eastern Ukraine. But the IOC said “the ROC confirmed that it does not, and will not, conduct any activities in these territories.鈥�
Ukrainian minister Bidnyi said this promise was 鈥渏ust fake and empty words.鈥�
Just 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics as approved neutrals, and combined to win five medals, with just one gold.
The Russian team in Los Angeles could now be closer to the more than 300 athletes sent to the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, that returned with 71 medals including 20 titles.
Athletes still monitored
To be approved for neutral status, Russian athletes had to show no links to state military and security agencies. They also should not have publicly supported the war in Ukraine
The IOC will continue to monitor social media posts by Russian athletes, Coventry confirmed, citing the 鈥渞ole models鈥� requirement in the Olympic Charter.
鈥淭hat is strong enough leverage that we would need at any time in order to decide who would be willing and deserving to come to any Olympic Games,鈥� she said.
IOC official James Macleod said the Olympic body gets referrals from Ukraine about problematic social media posts by Russian athletes: 鈥淭hose are always taken into consideration.鈥�
Flag, anthem to return in October?
The IOC did not yet approve letting Russian athletes and teams compete with their flag and anthem. That decision will come 鈥渁t an appropriate time,鈥� it said.
The next Olympic competition is the 2026 Youth Summer Games in Dakar, Senegal opening Oct. 31.
The IOC said to 鈥渁ddress the lack of confidence in the global sporting community relating to the return of Russian athletes to international competition,鈥� those athletes must give multiple doping controls and be part of a recognized testing program.
The IOC said it will continue to 鈥渘ot organize IOC events in Russia or invite Russian government or state officials to its events.鈥�
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AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in D眉sseldorf, Germany, and AP writer Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv contributed to this report.
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