The International Olympic Committee (IOC) late Thursday invited 22 Russian and 17 Belarusian athletes to compete at the Paris Games as neutrals, while some of them have already said they would not participate.
The fresh list of names included competitors from tennis, shooting and rowing. Another list of athletes, released earlier this month, included competitors from wrestling, weightlifting, cycling and trampoline.
Russian cyclist Aleksandr Vlasov and five Belarusian athletes said they would not go to the Paris Games following the release of the first list.
However, 18 athletes have already confirmed that they will participate, including three cyclists, three trampoline specialists, two weightlifters and 10 wrestlers.
Two Belarusian rowers and two Belarusian fencers have yet to confirm their presence at this year’s Olympics.
In order to compete in the Paris Games as a “neutral individual athlete,” competitors first have to satisfy their individual federation’s qualifying criteria, then they must pass a check to see if they have actively supported the invasion of Ukraine or have links to their countries’ respective militaries.
