Фото: Robert Katzki, unsplash.com
Participants of the 14th Olympic Summit supported the IOC Executive Board’s recommendation that young athletes holding Russian or Belarusian passports should no longer face restrictions on access to international youth competitions, both in individual and team sports. The decision was adopted in Lausanne, where discussions on athletes’ rights and the political neutrality of sport took place on 9–10 December.
Implementation of these recommendations will depend on the rules of each international federation. Summit participants committed to forwarding the outcome of these discussions to their respective organizations. It was noted that applying these recommendations by all stakeholders will take time.
These principles are intended to apply to the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar in 2026 and are recommended for adoption by all international federations and organizers of international sports events for their own youth competitions.
The IOC press service underlined that young athletes should not bear responsibility for the actions of their governments. At the same time, summit participants stressed that existing sanctions against the governments of Russia and Belarus remain in force: restrictions on accreditation and invitations for officials from both countries will continue to apply at senior and youth events.
The IOC also noted that international sports federations should continue to refrain from holding competitions on the territory of Russia, while this restriction no longer applies to Belarus.