Overview
- The IOC Executive Board provisionally lifted the ROC suspension on Tuesday after finding the committee no longer included regional sports organisations in the four occupied Ukrainian oblasts.
- The decision ends the IOC’s vetting recommendation that had required Russians to compete as individually cleared neutral athletes and reopens the path for Russian competitors to enter international events.
- Any Russian athlete seeking to return must join a testing programme overseen independently, for example by the International Testing Agency, and pass multiple pre-competition drug tests.
- International federations retain full authority to admit Russian athletes and have split responses so far, with some bodies immediately restoring participation and World Athletics explicitly maintaining its ban.
- Ukraine and many athletes criticised the move and the IOC warned it will monitor ROC activity closely and reserves the right to reimpose measures if the ROC breaches its commitments, a development that could shape qualification and politics ahead of LA 2028.