Lausanne, July 7 (IANS) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee that had been in effect since October 2023.

However, the Russian athletes returning to international competition must be part of a national (RUSADA/ROC) anti-doping programme (including risk assessment, test distribution plan, and results management) that is delegated to the International Testing Agency (ITA), the IOC decided.

“The decision was taken following a thorough analysis by the IOC’s Legal Affairs Commission, considering that the ROC no longer includes as its members any regional sports organisations in territories falling under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine,” the IOC said in a statement.

“IOC will take a decision in relation to the display of the Russian flag, anthem, colours or any identifications for the Olympic Games at the appropriate time,” the statement added.

The IOC said it will continue to “not organise IOC events in Russia or invite Russian government or state officials to its events.”

With the qualification period for both the LA28 Olympic Games and the Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games having started, and the need to offer equal access to these competitions to all athletes, the IOC EB decided that its recommendation to International Federations (IFs) and international sports event organisers, first issued on February 28, 2022 and repeated on March 28, 2023, related to Russian athletes and teams, including the protective measures, are no longer applicable.

In accordance with the Olympic Charter, and as applicable to all NOCs in general when selecting the athletes participating in the Olympic Games, the ROC must ensure that Russian athletes’ “selection [for the Olympic Games] shall be based not only on their sports performance, but also on their ability to serve as role models who respect, uphold and promote a peaceful society through sport as outlined in the Olympic Charter.” (Bye-law 2.1 to Rules 27 and 28).

To address the lack of confidence in the global sporting community relating to the return of Russian athletes to international competition and in view of the recent allegations regarding the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA)’s governance, and pending confirmation that reinstatement conditions concerning the World Anti-Doping Code have been met, all Russian athletes returning to international competition must meet relevant anti-doping requirements, particularly those set out in the anti-doping rules of the IOC and IFs, as well as best practices established by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In particular, the IOC statement clarified on Tuesday.

–IANS

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