Belarus’ NOC commented on IOC’s decision to allow Belarusian athletes to Paris Olympics as ‘neutrals’

The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus took note of the decision of the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board dated December 8th, 2023 on the admission of Belarusian athletes to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics in a neutral status – as reported on the NOC official website

“We welcome the admission of Belarusian athletes to the 2024 Games in Paris; however, the decision taken does not fully satisfy the interests of the Belarusian sports community. The current strict restrictions, including participation in competitions without national symbols, a limited number of qualifying events, exclusion of athletes competing in team events, continue to be extremely discriminatory towards the athletes of our country. We’re convinced that in order to preserve the integrity of the Olympic movement, the speedy eradication of any inequality in sports is most consistent with the IOC interests,” the statement reads.

The NOC noted that not all international federations are guided by the IOC recommendations and decisions; in particular, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) does not even try to hide its openly discriminatory and politicised position towards Belarusian athletes.

“In this regard, we expect clear clarification of the ‘discriminatory’ conditions of access to participation in the remaining qualifying competitions and the Olympic Games in Paris not only from the IOC, but also from international federations as the main organisers of competitions in their sports,” Belarus’ NOC added.

As stated earlier, the NOC of Belarus will be guided primarily by the interests of the athletes themselves, and will undoubtedly continue to work to restore justice and the full participation of our athletes in all competitions.