Belarus at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
The 2024 Summer Olympics will be held in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. More than 10,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete in 306 medal events in 32 sports.
The motto and slogan of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is Ouvrons Grand Les Jeux or Games Wide Open.
Unfortunately, by the decision of the International Olympic Committee, athletes from Belarus and Russia will be able to compete in Paris only in a neutral status, and will not have the opportunity to participate in team events at all. The IOC allowed the federations of each sport to decide on their own whether to admit Belarusians and Russians. So there is no unified approach and openness. For example, the International Association of Athletics Federations (World Athletics) banned athletes from the two countries from participating in international competitions even in a neutral status.
The IOC Executive Board also has approved a flag and an anthem for the athletes in neutral status. The anthem has no lyrics. They will not be able to participate in the traditional parade of nations at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Games. They will be allowed to watch the parade from the stands.
Due to qualification restrictions, a maximum of 28 athletes from Belarus and 54 from Russia can qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris.
The National Olympic Committee of Belarus, in response to the decision of the IOC Executive Board of 8 December 2023 on the admission of Belarusian athletes to the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad 2024 in Paris in a neutral status, stated:
“We welcome the decision to allow Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, this decision does not fully satisfy the Belarusian sports community. Tough restrictions remain, including the ban on the display of national symbols, the limited number of qualifying events, and the ban on participation in team events. All these restrictions are still extremely discriminatory towards the athletes of our country.” Read more…
The NOC of Belarus noted that it will proceed primarily from the interests of the athletes (after all, this is their life’s work!), and will continue to press for restoring justice and reinstating the right of Belarusian athletes to take part in all competitions without restrictions.
Moreover, Belarusians are among the best in the world in a number of sports and are in the running for Olympic championship. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 107 Belarusian athletes competed in 20 sports and won 7 medals: 1 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals.
Belarus’ athletes at the 2024 Olympics
To date (29 April 2024), the following Belarusian athletes have won 2024 Olympic berths:
Rowing: Yauheni Zalaty, Tatsiana Klimovich
Wrestling:
freestyle - Aryan Tsiutryn (57kg weight category), Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau (74kg), Aliaksandr Hushtyn (97kg), Dzianis Khramiankou (125kg).
women’s — Iryna Kurachkina (2020 Tokyo silver medalist, 57kg), Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (53kg).
Greco-Roman - Abubakar Khaslakhanau (97kg)
Cycling: one berth
Swimming: Ilya Shymanovich, Anastasiya Shkurdai, Alina Zmushka
Trampoline: Ivan Litvinovich (2020 Tokyo Olympic champion), Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya
Shooting: Uladzislau Dzemesh
Taekwondo: Georgy Gurtsiev (58kg)
Weightlifting: Siuzanna Valodzka (71kg), Yauheni Tsikhantsou (102kg), Eduard Ziaziulin (over 102kg).
Tennis The 2024 Paris Olympics will feature 56 direct acceptances to the singles draw based on the ATP and WTA rankings (plus 6 quotas from the ITF and 2 for winners of past Olympic Games or Grand Slam tournaments). Athletes will qualify according to the ATP (men) and WTA (women) rankings as of 10 June 2024. Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka are currently among the world Top-56. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that no eligible player will be banned from the Games.
However, even Olympic licenses or high rankings do not guarantee Belarusians the opportunity to compete at the 2024 Games. The IOC announced its decision to establish the Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel (AINERP) to evaluate the eligibility of each athlete with a Russian or Belarusian passport who obtains, or who could obtain, a qualification place for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and that of their support personnel.
print version
make home page
add to bookmarks
