IOC chief Bach called on continental federations to solve the problem of the authorization of the Russian Federation to the Paris Olympics;
The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, said continental federations should decide on the admission of athletes from the Russian Federation to the Olympics.
“We will monitor the implementation of the recommendations for as long as possible to make an informed decision,” Bach told reporters on Tuesday.
According to him, “the IOC Executive Committee did not consider it possible to set a deadline today, because the situation is difficult”.
“The Asian Games will be held this year, the organizers would like to invite Russians to participate,” Bach said, “but there are also fears that it will be difficult to include Russian and Belarusian athletes in certain sports.”
He noted that “everything is in the hands of the international and continental federations”. And “there can be no single solution” – “in martial arts there may be one situation, in swimming – another” and the federations “know their system better”.
He also said that “in Asia, for example, they have already included athletes from Oceania in their competitions without any problem”. The IOC chief said he was confident that a solution would be found “in the interest of all athletes”.
Previously, the Asian Olympic Council invited athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in the Asian Games in Hangzhou (China), which will take place from September 23 to October 8.
The IOC on Tuesday recommended that international federations allow athletes who did not support the Russians in Ukraine as neutral participants to start. The IOC proposes not to allow athletes associated with the armed forces and security agencies to start, in addition, it has been decided not to consider Russian and Belarusian teams as participants in international team sports tournaments.
