The International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) that was imposed in October 2023 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine [1, 2, 3]. The decision allows Russian athletes to take part in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and associated qualifiers, provided they meet enhanced anti-doping requirements [1, 2, 3, 4].
The suspension had been applied because the IOC recognized regional councils in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia within the ROC membership [2, 3]. The IOC lifted the suspension after determining that the ROC no longer includes members from Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation [2, 3].
Russian athletes previously competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics only as neutrals after passing rigorous vetting to exclude support for the war [1, 2, 3]. At the 2024 Paris Games, 32 Russian athletes competed as neutrals, winning five medals—a significant reduction from over 300 athletes and 71 medals Russia won at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics before the suspension [1, 5].
However, the IOC has not decided whether Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under their national flag, anthem, or using Russian colors at the 2028 Olympics [1, 2, 3, 6]. The decision on national symbols will be made at a later date [1, 2, 3].
IOC President Kirsty Coventry said, "We don’t want to hold athletes accountable for the actions of their government," adding, "We will continue to support Ukraine like we have since this started. But I don’t believe athletes should pay the price" [3, 7]. Russia’s Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev called the decision "a green light for international federations to reinstate all our athletes" [3].
The IOC also reaffirmed its stance not to organize events in Russia or invite Russian government officials to its events [1, 2, 3].
The lifting of the suspension drew criticism from Ukraine's Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi, who said, "On this day, when all of Ukraine is in a day of mourning... we don’t understand why the IOC changed its rules while the situation became even worse" [6]. Some athlete advocacy groups also called the decision disturbing and lacking accountability amid ongoing conflict and doping concerns [6, 8, 7].
The suspension, imposed in October 2023 due to ROC's involvement with regional councils in occupied Ukrainian territories, was provisionally lifted on July 7, 2026, when the IOC executive board advised sports bodies to end neutral vetting for Russian athletes ahead of LA 2028 qualifiers [1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 5, 10, 7].
