The Russian Olympic Committee says it will make cash payments to 116 of the country’s athletes who were not allowed to compete at the Winter Olympics.

Athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports have been barred from many international sport competitions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

But 13 Russian athletes were approved to compete as neutrals at the Milan-Cortina Games in Italy in February.

Russian Sports Minister and ROC chairman Mikhail Degtyarev said an executive committee decided on Tuesday “to award monetary bonuses to all Olympic athletes who were unable to travel to the Games due to treacherous political decisions”.

“The Ministry of Sport and the ROC are doing everything possible to ensure the full return of the Russian national team to international competitions under the national flag and with the national anthem,” Degtyarev said.

“Where necessary, we negotiate; where that fails, we defend the athletes’ rights in court so that our team can compete for medals with a full roster.”

Nikita Filippov was the only Russian athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, taking silver in ski mountaineering.

Since the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, the International Olympic Committee has created a pathway for individuals to compete as neutrals, provided they meet strict criteria.

That includes demonstrating that they have not actively supported the war.

However, six Russian and four Belarusians athletes were permitted to compete under their national flag at the Winter Paralympic Games in March for the first time since 2014, after the International Paralympic Committee lifted its suspension of the two nations in September.

Source: BBC

-- Agencies