Russian and Belarusian athletes allowed to compete at the Paris Olympics can not take part in the parade of nations at the opening ceremony, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said.
IOC director James McLeod said the decision was taken by the executive board because they will be at the Games as independent neutral athletes and not representatives of their nation, but he added they they will be given the opportunity to experience the July 26 ceremony on site.
McLeod said a decision on their participation at the August 11 closing ceremony would come at a later stage.
Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from international sports events since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But the IOC is now allowing them to compete under strict criteria, only in individual sports, if they don't support the war and have no affiliation with Russia's military and other security forces.
McLeod said that so far 12 Russians and 7 Belarusians have qualified for the Games. But their final participation will depend on an IOC review panel which will look into every athlete. He said it was likely 36 Russian and 22 Belarusians would qualify, pending review.
