The International Olympic Committee’s decision to readmit Russian and Belarusian athletes to the 2024 Summer Olympics is untimely at best and contrary to their mission of peace at worst. 

The IOC recently released guidelines in which athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to qualify for the Paris Olympics. Teams from either country will not be able to participate, but individual athletes can participate under a neutral banner. 

The IOC readmitted Russian and Belarusian athletes as long as they are not actively supporting the war, while affirming their solidarity with the Ukrainian people. The committee sees this as the most peaceful and neutral solution possible at this time. 

The guidelines include a complete separation from the Russian and Belarusian government. This means that further use of the phrase “Russian Olympic Committee,” which represented Russian athletes in the Olympics since Russia’s 2016 doping scandal, is also disallowed. Athletes from each country will be represented as neutral under the Olympic flag.

The timing of this decision is bizarre. With individual qualifications starting July 1, re-evaluating the stance on athletes makes sense – but qualifications for team and marathon events began at the end of 2022. This changes the eligibility for those already in qualifications.

If the decision came out before any of the official qualifications began, it would be more logical, rather than reversing the decision in the middle of the process with no clear cause. 

However, the decision to re-admit athletes from Russia and Belarus is out of line with the Olympic mission of peace.

In February, the IOC released a statement criticizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a violation of the Olympic truce, making this the third Russian violation since 2008. Russia is the only country to ever violate the modern truce. 

This begs the question of when will the IOC begin to hold Russia to this standard?

The Olympic truce is non-binding and has no repercussions to breaking it; however, the repetition of the violations is concerning. Russia disrespects the Olympics in a way no other country does and should be held accountable.