Now without Paris: Russian athletes will probably miss the 2024 Olympics

Russian athletes, most likely, will not be allowed to participate in the 2024 Olympics, which will be held in Paris. Moreover, they will not be able to perform there even under a neutral flag, as it was this winter in Beijing. Craig Reedy, honorary member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and ex-president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), announced this to the British edition of The Times .

He justified his words by the impossibility of allowing Russian athletes to qualify for the qualifying competitions during the hostilities in Ukraine, and even if they end by 2024, the qualifying competitions will also have passed by that time.

By the way, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, also stated that the Russians would not be welcome as long as hostilities in Ukraine continue.

Russian athletes have been forced to compete under a neutral flag for several Olympic Games in a row due to a doping scandal that erupted at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

Meanwhile, the qualification competitions for the 2024 Summer Olympics will begin in the next few weeks, and therefore, it is "unlikely" that athletes from Russia and Belarus will be able to participate, Reedy explained.

Recall that in its recommendation issued in February, the IOC banned Russian athletes from participating in international competitions until the end of 2022, and this ban deprives Russians of the opportunity to participate in qualifying competitions, and, therefore, in the Olympic Games.

The ban was introduced on international competitions in all Olympic sports, except for cycling, tennis and judo. But in them, according to Reedy, the participation of athletes from Russia is doubtful.