Can Russians and Belarusians compete at the Paris Olympics? Individual Neutral Athletes explained [Video]

Russian athletes have competed under several different guises throughout the 128-year history of the Olympics, and they will be known by another new name at the 2024 Games in Paris.Related video above: The most notable boycotts in Olympic historyFollowing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — supported by Belarus — in February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be prohibited from competing in international sporting events.In January 2023, the IOC announced its intention to allow these athletes to compete as neutrals, in a similar way to how Russian and Belarusian tennis players are presented at ATP, WTA and Grand Slam events without any reference to their nationality.The Russian Olympic Committee was then suspended entirely by the IOC in October 2023 when it absorbed Ukrainian regional sports organizations in Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.There has been much debate around whether Russian and Belarusian athletes should be …