IOC provisionally lifts suspension of Russian Olympic Committee, clearing path for Los Angeles 2028
The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday revoked the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, in place since October 2023, and told international federations that restrictions linked to the war in Ukraine and doping are no longer applicable.
Decision details
The IOC Executive Board, meeting remotely from Lausanne, lifted the suspension provisionally after its Legal Affairs Commission found that the Russian Olympic Committee no longer includes regional sports organisations from territories under Ukrainian jurisdiction. The move follows a similar decision for Belarus on 7 May 2026 and comes as qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games gets underway.
We want to guarantee all athletes the possibility to participate in the Olympic Games and not be considered responsible for the acts of their government.
Conditions and caveats
Russian athletes will not immediately recover their flag, anthem or national colours at Olympic events. The IOC said it will decide on those symbols "at the appropriate time" and stressed it will not organise any events in Russia or invite Russian government officials to its competitions. Every returning athlete must undergo enhanced anti-doping testing under a programme coordinated by international federations and the International Testing Agency, a condition the IOC linked to "the scepticism of the global sports community" and recent allegations about the governance of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency.
A fractured sporting landscape
The return of Russian competitors will play out unevenly across sports. World Athletics maintained its total exclusion of Russians and Belarusians last Friday, saying it sees "no concrete progress" in peace negotiations. By contrast, judo and swimming federations fully reintegrated athletes from both countries in November and April respectively, and the International Paralympic Committee did the same ahead of the Milano-Cortina Winter Paralympics.
- IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee for including sports organisations from occupied Ukrainian territories.
- IOC lifts restrictions on Belarusian athletes and officials.
- IOC provisionally lifts suspension of Russian Olympic Committee, allowing athletes to compete in team events and qualifiers.
- Youth Summer Olympics begin in Dakar, Senegal — the next Olympic event.
- Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics; Russian participation under national symbols pending IOC decision.
Russian reaction
Moscow welcomed the decision. Sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev wrote on Telegram that the Olympic movement "must remain outside politics" and called the IOC's message clear, even as he acknowledged that much work remains to implement the ruling across international organisations.
The IOC is sending a clear message: the Olympic movement must remain outside politics.
Winter Games programme changes
The Executive Board also approved the programme for the French Alps 2030 Winter Olympics. Freeride skiing and snowboard, plus synchronised figure skating in its Sincro9 format, will join the lineup, while Nordic combined, a fixture since Chamonix 1924, is dropped. The IOC said Alpes 2030 will be the first Winter Games with full gender parity, splitting 3,046 athlete quotas equally between women and men.
