A path to the Paris 2024 Olympics appears to have opened up for Russian and Belarusian athletes.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) invited Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in this year’s Asian Games taking place in the Chinese city of Hangzhou from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8.
“The OCA believes in the unifying power of sport and that all athletes, regardless of their nationality or the passport they hold, should be able to compete in sports competitions,” the OCA said in a statement.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has expressed its desire for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at Paris 2024 as neutrals under the Olympic flag, but they remain unable to qualify in Europe due to restrictions stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February. Belarus has assisted in the war, which Russia calls a “special military operation.” While they are currently barred from global sporting events, those bans don’t necessarily extend to continental events, though they have in swimming so far.
In a statement, the IOC said it “welcomed and appreciated the offer from the Olympic Council of Asia to give these (Russian and Belarusian) athletes access to Asian competitions.”
About 75% of the Russian population lives on the European continent, but about 75% of Russian territory is on the Asian continent. Russian sporting federations have long favored their cultural ties to Europe over their geographic ties to Asia when choosing their continental sporting bodies, but that could change now for political reasons.
Olympic champion Vladimir Salnikov, now the head of the All-Russia Swimming Federation, said his reception by European governing body LEN has been more strained by global events than his relationship with FINA. As we reported last month, this makes sense as European nations are currently feeling more fear about what could happen if Russia’s expansion didn’t stop at Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia maintains allies in Asia such as Iran, India, and China.
The move from Europe to Asia could make it easier for Russia to qualify for Paris 2024 in some sports. Asian swimming is very good at the top with China, Japan, and South Korea, but it doesn’t have the same depth as Europe. In water polo, the Russian men haven’t qualified for the Olympics since 2004, but that could change soon as the sport is less developed in Asia than in Europe.
Russia’s inclusion in the Asian Games figures to make it more difficult for other countries to qualify in sports where there’s a set number of qualifying slots. It’s unknown yet if Asia will increase its number of qualifying slots for the continent to adjust for Russia’s arrival.
Olympic qualifying procedures have already begun in some sports with many more scheduled throughout the year.
The most telling thing about the IOC is they would rather have Ukraine boycott the Paris Olympics than have Russian and Belarussian athletes excluded – says it all really.
It will be impossible to tell which athletes support the current “special military operation” and which don’t when they would normally be subject to a prison term in their home countries for speaking against it.
So pretending like the political situation doesn’t exist for a second, Russia makes some sense, but Belarus? Belarus in Asia? What?
Of course pretty obviously a lot of countries aren’t very comfortable or supportive of the idea that their actions could lead to them being barred international organizations. While I do emphasize with Russian athletes who have lost opportunities through no fault of there own, citing their plight does not change the actual intention.
Us of the “western” world must consider our own biases. It’s not that what’s happened in Ukraine is not a tradegy, it’s obviously terrorism in the name of fulfilling a megalomaniacs impossible dream of restoring a lost empire. But a lot of the world (primarily… Read more »
The IOC is a joke organization. It is not serious about doping and meanwhile ruined the Olympics
with its ongoing effort to make every kid or nerd hobby/activity an Olympic event.
Oh hell no. Bad vibes all-around. The problem is that the athletes won’t be received well nor will feel welcome. Who wants to go to the Olympics only to hang with their own country? They’ll be segregated, heckled, harassed and God only knows what else with tempers flaring. Bad, baasddd vibes.
As long as the Russian government and Russian athletes are entirely separated, I honestly don’t have an issue with this.
Don’t play their national anthem, don’t raise their flag, don’t mention their country.
These athletes are ATHLETES, not the people orchestrating the war
If America had athletes that doped (which we do) and America did terrorism (which we do on a FAR BIGGER scale than Russia / Ukraine), should clean American athletes who have no part in America’s US petrodollar global terrorism not have their flag raised and anthem played..
The hypocrisy is gobsmacking, rich and dripping with irony. This blind exceptionalism is why we are deemed ugly Americans.
If you can’t hear an anthem or see a flag, you need to stay home because you are not ready for the world.
Comparing democratic country like US with Putin’s Russia… I have no words really. You are either Putin’s troll or simply not a very bright person.I am Russian btw but of course emigrated from there several months ago.
Great. Welcome to America! Let me introduce you:
“Wars”
… Read more »
Korea
Vietnam (based on lies)
Iraq 1
Iraq 2 (based on lies)
Pakistan
Afghanistan
Others killed by american “interventions” (terrorism for profit) via bomb attacks, sabotage, attempted regime change
China, 45–46
Syria, 49
China, 50–53
Iran, 53
Guatemala, 54
Tibet, 55–70’s
Indonesia, 58
Cuba, 59
DP Congo, 60–65
Dominican R, 61
Brazil, 64
Guiana, 64
Guatemala, 64
Laos, 64–73
Dominican R, 65-66
Indonesia, 65
Peru, 65
Greece, 67
Guatemala, 67-69
Cambodia, 69-70
Chile, 70-73
Argentina, 76
It’s beyond delusional to think the US is a civilised country in this day and age when you can do a few quick google searches lol
Changing regime, may be even organizing a coup in one of banana republics and waging a war on a democratic country, annexing territories are two completely different things. You can criticize US for lots of foreign policy decisions but they never attacked another peaceful democratic country.
LMAO. Ask civilians from those countries whether they are grateful for the so-called regime change that US brought them.
I think people in many countries are happy, from South Korea to countries in former Yugoslavia. Compare South Korea to North Korea, West Germany to East Germany, literally any Central American country to Cuba. US influence in all those examles was much more positive than Russian, ha-ha
So in your words its US that is waging a war in Ukraine? I repeat, you are either a troll or an idiot, no more discussions with you
90% US interventions were either justified (like former Yugoslavia, stopped the war and genocide there) or exist only in your imagination (Ukraine for ex)
Yemen alone is much worse than Ukraine/Russia, with Saudia using American jets, American weapons, American logistics / planning, and America refueling air tankers.
What did average Americans get from that?
We starved and cholera’d to death 500,000 CIVILIANS… because of an oil pipeline that has split their country. You don’t care about those people, maybe because they are brown, like the millions of others killed by American imperialism.
You will win no morality points here. You are the moral low ground. If Ukraine / Russia were as bad as America, you would have a point.
There was a civil war going on in Yemen, there was NO WAR war in Ukraine,Russia started this war bcause Ukraine wanted to join EU and NATO. Again I don’t support indiscrimnate methods used by Saudis but there is no comparison between those two situations.
If you don’t support indiscriminate methods, why do you support the 2014 fire bombing of the Trade union killing many in Odessa, which kicked off this war proper in Ukraine? That was “indiscriminate methods”.
As was the OPENLY Neo-Nazi Azov battalion in the Ukrainian military retaliating after those trade union fires by killing their fellow Ukrainian CIVILIANS in the Donbas. Also “indiscriminate methods”.
And let’s not forget, the DEMOCRATICALLY elected government of Ukraine was voted out by its parliament (paid cronies of America), against the people of Ukraine. America (and you now), are against democratic elections when it suits your financial purposes.
This is where regime change fails: When you literally oppose a democratic election to support Neo-Nazis serving OPENLY… Read more »
This man is teaching us something very important about history, and learning of history: the story changes depending on who’s telling it. Intentional omission of small details that seem minor lead to big conclusions that aren’t minor.
The Azov Regiment is a small group of volunteers in the Ukrainian National Guard. 900-2,500 people. Of that group, only a fraction were part of these neo-nazi movements, and when the unit joined the Ukrainian National Guard in 2017 (yes, that’s right, they formed as NOT part of the Ukrainian military), that was dealt with. Their websites were shut down, the unit worked to depoliticize itself, its far-right leadership left the group and moved into politics proper. The group every year moves further-and-further… Read more »
You don’t know anything about Ukraine and just repeat nonsense from Putin’s propaganda. Accusations that there are lots of Nazis and that Russian speakers are oppressed there are total bullsh*t. I ll just say that president Zelensky is a Russian speaking Jew ha-ha and there were a lot of ethnic Russians involved in Maidan revolution, 30-40% at least. And uneducated criminal Yanukovich that you are so fond of was elected only cause of mass proven falsifications in the Eastern regions of the country.
You’re correct. No all people have high sense to see deep background of events. they simply think that they like to think. hah. most of big disasters were happened by US. they control this directly or indirectly behind scene.
No way! I am Brazilian and the United States sponsored a military coup in 1964 removing a democratic government and installing a military dictatorship that lasted 20 years.
As a Latin American, the United States is much worse than Russia.
you’re out of your mind.
Well, I didn’t look that far back. But if you compare now for ex Ecuador ( they don’t even have their own currency, use USD and look fine) and Venezuela (Russia’s friend, poorest country in the region despite large oil resources) you can draw some conclusions.
Yes, the world knows the truth. When I travel abroad and people ask me where I am from, I tell them “I’m from the word’s top terrorist country” then I ask them to guess.
They always guess America. I have done this for years. Europeans always get this right. Asians too.
we’re to blame because we are helping a country from being erased? Go kick rocks.
None of those wars and military interventions have benefited the overwhelming majority of humanity but they certainly made tons of $ for the mil contractor$ and the bank$
Exactly the point of calling out our glaring hypocrisy. Our terrorism for-profit hurts average Americans. It does nothing for us except bleed us out in taxes. They are wealth transfers to the american business elite and their cronies in washington.
We keep America the weakest developed nation on earth, unable to care for our own people.
Here’s what trillions to (insert fake war) will continue to get us:
~ life expectancy is decreasing
~ 45,000 dead americans every year (can’t afford healthcare)
~ full SS retirement benefits increased to age 67
~ lead gun violence
~ lead mass shootings
~ most newborn deaths of all industrialized nations
~ 112 million (1/3 of america) are “healthcare insecure” struggle to pay healthcare… Read more »
Oh you’re in for a surprise of a lifetime if you think the US is as clean as they are in your head
I am not saying US is completely clean far from it but comparing them to Russia is mind blowing
Democracy doesn’t matter in this regard. Illegal wars matter in this debate.
Just because a democratic country starts an illegal war doesn’t mean they are more justified than when an autocratic country does the same.
Where was the boycott of the US athletes during the Vietnam and Iraq wars?
Lots of whataboutism going on in this thread.
Sports is a highly effective propagada tool anywhere you look, but in Russia especially. Athletes are entirely state-funded and there is not much “separating” the government and the athletes whose lives they control.
Have you ever talk to Russian people about this war? Do you know that Russian government has the support from the majority of population of Russian Federation? Do you know that athletes are part of this population? Do you know that until 1943 the Nazi Germany was one of the nicest place to live at. And the majority of population was happy with or not interested in what their government is doing beyond the borders. If the answers to these questions is “no” then don’t write about Russian athletes something that you don’t know.
Some Russian swimmers for ex Rylov openly support the regime and the war. How can you allow them to compete with Ukrainians for ex?
Boooooooooooo
So hypothetically Russia could bomb all Ukraine’s elite sporting facilities (and probably has already tried), destroying a generation of Ukrainian sports, and then just turn up at the opening ceremony next year as if nothing has happened.
Sounds really fair.
Well the US or the UK haven’t been banned yet so an unfortunate precedent has been established.
When was the last time US or UK annexed territories of another country? Too many Putin’s trolls here…
The United States sponsored terrorist attacks on Cuban hotels in the 1990s.
Horrible decision setting a very poor precedent. Basically saying you can be an international rogue and switch continents without being held to account. Disgraceful.