Russia, which has a history of Olympic-related controversies, whether it’s being banned due to doping charges or being excluded from major events due to political tensions with other countries, now leaves us with a new question: Is Russia participating in the Paris Olympics 2024? The answer is yes, Russian athletes are taking part, but not under their country’s name.
Is Russia in the 2024 Olympics?
To answer this question, we need to understand two major points. There are two different categories of Russian athletes at the Paris Olympics 2024. First, there are 15 athletes out of 36 who accepted the proposal of the International Olympic Committee. You will not see the country’s name associated with these athletes, as they are described as AINs, meaning Individual Neutral Athletes.
The other category consists of athletes who have chosen to compete for other nations. For example, Sardana Trofimova, a long-distance runner, is representing Kyrgyzstan, and Georgii Okorokov, a wrestler, is representing Australia, among several others.
What is ROC in Olympics?
ROC stands for Russian Olympic Committee, and Russian athletes were allowed to represent the committee, even though they could not represent their own country. In previous events, you may have witnessed athletes from Russia under this label, but now they are categorized as AINs
What is AIN in the Olympics?
As mentioned, 15 athletes are participating as AINs, which stands for Individual Neutral Athletes. Since Russia and Belarus are banned from participating in the Olympics, the IOC has decided to assign the AIN label to these athletes. This means they will compete, but they will not represent their respective countries or display their national flags.
