IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee after it tried to claim Ukrainian athletes for Russia

The International Olympic Committee executive board suspended the Russian Olympic Committee on Thursday after it attempted to claim Ukrainian athletes for Russia.

That tactic is a breach of the Olympic Charter, which recognizes Ukraine as a separate entity from Russia.

The suspension of the ROC takes place immediately, and will remain in effect indefinitely. As a result, the ROC cannot function as a National Olympic Committee and will not receiving funding. The IOC also stated it reserves the right to decide whether athletes from Russia will be allowed to take part in the 2024 Paris Olympics and the Milano Cortina Olympics in 2026.

The IOC can issue further punishment depending on "the development of this situation."

Russia has been at war with Ukraine since February of 2022. As a result of the war, Russian athletes have occasionally been allowed to compete in sporting events under a neutral banner. In some cases — like Wimbledon in 2022 — Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from participating all together. Men's No. 2 Daniil Medvedev — who is Russian — was not allowed to play at the event due to the war in Ukraine.

Russian athletes were allowed to take part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but did so as part of the ROC. The athletes were not able to represent the country of Russia after it was banned from taking part due to a doping scandal. If the ROC remains suspended when the 2024 Paris Olympics begin, the IOC will need to determine how Russian athletes will be identified if they are allowed to compete.

On Oct. 9, the IOC announced Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to participate in the Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024 as neutral athletes. It's unclear whether the IOC will readdress that decision following Thursday's suspension.