Is Russia competing at the 2024 Olympics? You might not see the country’s name at the Games, but Russian athletes will be competing — they’ll just be doing so a different name: AIN.
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are underway, and those watching Friday's Opening Ceremony may have noticed the absence of Russian flags during the Parade of Nations.
While it is indeed true that Russia will not be officially represented at the Paris Olympics, Russian athletes are competing in the Games under a different name: AIN.
The change dates back to a years-long, state-sponsored doping scheme that involved several Russian athletes in 2016 when the country's athletes won a collection of medals.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended Russia in 2017, but several Russian athletes who were not involved in the scheme won an appeal to compete. Those athletes were required do so under different names.
At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Russian athletes who passed drug tests competed under the "Olympic Athletes from Russia," or OAR, delegation.
During the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Russian athletes competed under the "Russian Olympic Committee," or ROC, delegation.
This year, however, they'll have an entirely different name.
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Here's what to know:
What does AIN stand for?
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Russia will not compete as ROC in Paris. Instead, Russian athletes will fall under the Individual Neutral Athletes delegation, or AIN (IOC country code after the French name Athlètes Individuels Neutres).
Why did Russia change its name from ROC?
The ROC name actually came to be at the Tokyo Olympics since Russia was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2019 for its state-sponsored doping program.
Russian athletes can compete in Paris, but they must be approved to do so.
The same applies to Belarusian competitors. As of June 15, there were a combined 25 Russian and Belarusian athletes who were approved to compete in neutral events.
The athletes approved to compete cannot use the Russian flag or national anthem throughout the Olympics.
Russian and Belarusian athletes are also barred from participating in the Paris Opening Ceremony.
How many Russian athletes will be at the 2024 Olympics?
Russian athletes were capped at a maximum of 55, and Belarusian were capped at 28 -- though that's not necessarily
“The maximum number, which is unlikely to be reached, would be 55 and 28 respectively,” the IOC told CNN.
For comparison's sake, Russia had 330 athletes in Tokyo, while Belarus had 104.
