The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has indefinitely postponed any decision on whether to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in international sports tournaments, IOC President Thomas Bach said.
"The 11th Olympic Summit that met on had requested the International Olympic Committee to explore a pathway for athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport to return to international competitions as individual neutral athletes," Bach said.
"The Executive Board reiterates that the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport at the Olympic Games Paris-2024 was not considered either in the consultations or in its deliberations today," he added.
"The IOC expressively reserves the right to decide about their participation at the appropriate time, even if they would be considered to have qualified according to the qualification criteria set by their respective international federation," the IOC president concluded.
