IOC temporarily lifts ban on Russian Olympic Committee ahead of Los Angeles Olympics 28 – What it means

The Olympic cauldron is lit at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum prior to the opening of ticket registration for the 2028 Summer Olympics Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP photo) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has asked international sports federations to end the three-year process of vetting Russian athletes for neutral status ahead of qualifying events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.The decision follows the IOC’s recommendation two months ago that athletes from Russia and Belarus should once again be allowed to compete under their national identities. Belarus was a military ally of Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.“The IOC stands in solidarity with the Olympic community of Ukraine, which the Olympic movement has supported since the beginning of the war, and will continue to do so,” the IOC said in a statement after the executive board meeting.The IOC also relaxed the conditions for Russian athletes and teams to compete at IOC events and temporarily lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee that had been in effect since October 2023.The suspension was initially imposed after the Russian Olympic Committee included regional sports councils from the occupied regions of Ukraine. The IOC stated that these conditions no longer apply.“The decision was taken after a thorough analysis by the IOC Legal Affairs Commission, taking into account that the ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) no longer includes any regional sports organizations in the territories under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine,” the IOC said in a statement.Only 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus competed as sanctioned neutral athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning a combined five medals. By comparison, Russia had more than 300 athletes at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, winning 71 medals.The IOC has not yet decided whether Russian athletes and teams will be able to compete under the Russian flag and national anthem.The decision will come “at an appropriate time,” the IOC said.The next Olympic event on the calendar is the 2026 Summer Youth Games in Dakar, Senegal, which begin on October 31.The IOC also said Russian athletes must undergo multiple doping tests and be part of a recognized anti-doping testing program before returning to international competition.The measures are needed to “address the lack of confidence in the global sports community regarding the return of Russian athletes to international competition,” the IOC said.The Olympic body also confirmed that it would no longer “organise IOC events in Russia or invite Russian government or state officials to its events”.