Putin Costs Russian Athletes Their Chances To Compete
It is the latest tragedy in Mr. Putin’s 12-year-long humanitarian disaster.
As Callista and I watched the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, we were struck by the absence of athletes representing Russia.
Of course, a handful were there from Russia and Belarus as AIN (individual neutral athletes in English). This exception was created during the 2024 Paris Olympics. These athletes can compete as individuals — but not in team competitions (even if they have enough AIN athletes to field a full team). This clearly limits them to a few events. Further, they cannot display their countries’ flags. If they win their national anthems will not be played nor will their medals be counted in national standings.
There were 13 Russians and seven Belorussians competing under these terms.
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