Aleksandr Vlasov allowed to start at the Olympic Games as neutral athlete

Aleksandr Vlasov may participate in the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. The cyclist finds his name on a provisional list of 25 Olympic athletes who are allowed to participate under the neutral flag. The list was published this Saturday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The war between Ukraine and Russia has meant that athletes from Russia and Belarus are not welcome at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. The IOC has decided that individual athletes from the two countries may participate under the neutral flag under certain conditions. The Russian and Belarusian Olympians must have no ties with their own military or security services and must not support or have supported the Russian invasion.

To check this, the IOC has created a special panel. The panel has now assessed the first five sports: cycling, gymnastics, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling. Aleksandr Vlasov passed the inspection, as did thirteen other athletes from Russia and eleven athletes from Belarus.