IOC urges sports bodies to let Russian youth teams and athletes compete again with flag and anthem

LAUSANNE Switzerland AP The IOC took a big step toward reintegrating Russia and Belarus into world sports Thursday by advising governing bodies to let the countries youth teams and athletes compete with their full identity of national flag and anthem Athletes have a fundamental right to access sport across the world and to compete free from political interference or pressure from governmental organizations the International Olympic Committee revealed in a report That message in backing of athletes will be welcomed in Russia and Israel whose athletes have faced contemporary discrimination and comes less than three years out from the Los Angeles Summer Games that risks facing political crosswinds in the United States The updated strategy on Russia was set at a so-called Olympic Summit a meeting chaired by IOC president Kirsty Coventry that invites key stakeholders from the Olympic family It was recognized that implementation by the stakeholders will take time the IOC commented in a report adding that each sport s governing body should decide how to define youth events The IOC s latest move to ease the sporting isolation of Russia can apply to its own Youth Olympic Games which are held next year in Dakar Senegal from Oct to Nov Russian teams have been fully excluded from international soccer track and field and other sports since the full military invasion of Ukraine in February while Russian and Belarusian athletes in winter sports are now starting to return with neutral status ahead of the Milan Cortina Olympics in February A small group of Russian and Belarusian athletes competed as neutrals without their national identity at the Paris Summer Games last year where those countries were banned from crew sports AP Winter Olympics at https apnews com hub milan-cortina- -winter-olympics Source