Russia and Belarus will not receive formal invitations to the Paris Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland –

Russia and Belarus will not receive a formal invitation to the 2024 Paris Olympics when more than 200 national teams receive their traditional invitation later this month, the IOC said on Thursday.

It is a tradition of the International Olympic Committee to invite all national teams to the event exactly one year before a Summer or Winter Games begins.

Despite the protocol move, some Russian and Belarusian athletes were still able to compete in Paris – despite their country’s war against Ukraine – without their national teams invited.

The IOC said on Thursday that 203 eligible national Olympic committees (NOCs) will send their invitations to Paris on July 26.

“For the reasons stated, this excludes the NOCs of Russia and Belarus, plus the NOC of Guatemala, which is currently suspended,” the Olympic body said in a statement.

The president of the Belarusian NOC is Viktor Lukashenko, the son of state leader Alexander Lukashenko. He succeeded his father in the Olympic post.

The IOC last year urged international sports bodies to block and isolate athletes, officials and host cities from Russia and Belarus within days of the outbreak of war 17 months ago.

This year, with the next Olympics approaching, the IOC has pushed those sports organizations to try to have some Russians and Belarusians judged as neutral individuals to participate in qualifying events for Paris.

The IOC has consistently said it can choose not to invite Russia and Belarus to what is its own event at all.

“The IOC will make this decision at the appropriate time, in its sole discretion and without being bound by the results of previous Olympic qualifiers,” it said on Thursday.

Guatemala is currently suspended from the Olympic movement due to alleged government interference in the independence of the NOC there.