Canada To Follow IOC's Decision On Russian & Belarusian Participation

Summary

• Baltic countries campaign for IOC to ban Russian, Belarusian athletes from 2024 Olympics
• Poland wants Canada to join the campaign to reject Russian, Belarusian athletes
• Canada clarifies that it will follow IOC’s decision for now

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently announced that it would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. That decision caused a mixed reaction from the international committee.    

The majority of Russian and Belarusian athletes were happy to get approval from the IOC to be a part of the 2024 Olympics. However, Ukraine wasn’t happy with the IOC’s decision given the fact that Russia is currently at war with Ukraine. Ukraine immediately asked the IOC to reconsider its decision and now a number of other countries have supported Ukraine and want the IOC to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Poland Wants Canada To Support Ban 

The IOC has so far stood firm by its decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympics under certain conditions, one of which is that Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot display a Russian or Belarusian flag which we saw fans at the Australian Open flaunting the rules and must not support the war on Ukraine. 

A number of Baltic countries including Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania have now called on the IOC to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes. Ukraine has escalated its protest and has now said that it will consider boycotting the 2024 Paris Olympics if the IOC does not reverse its decision. 

Poland has decided to launch a campaign to put pressure on the IOC. Kamil Bortniczuk, sports minister for Poland says that he is confident they can put together a coalition of 30 to 40 countries who will push for the IOC to reverse its decision. Poland believes that Canada can be one of these countries that back the push to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Canada Will Follow IOC Decision For Now

As of now, Canada who is going through a Gymnastics crisis has retained a similar position as the United States and will go with the decision of the IOC. 

In a statement, David Shoemaker, CEO for the Canadian Olympic Committee said

The Canadian Olympic Committee continues to support the recommendation made by the IOC in February, 2022, that athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus should not be invited or allowed to participate in international competitions. We are open to the exploration of a pathway for the inclusion of neutral athletes Russian and Belarusian who meet, at a minimum, the conditions set out by the IOC executive board in its January 25th, 2023 statement.