The IOC is moving to clear the way for Russian athletes to compete in Olympic events, including the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, even as Moscow’s deadly missile and drone strikes pound Ukraine.
Transcript
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The International Olympic Committee has opened the door to Russia’s return to competition in time for the Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The decision is described as provisional and comes as Russian missile strikes are killing civilians deep inside Ukraine. And there are also questions about doping by Russian athletes.
MARTIN: NPR’s Brian Mann is with us to tell us more about this. Good morning, Brian.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So why is the IOC welcoming Russia back now?
MANN: Yeah. IOC officials have signaled for a long time they were increasingly uncomfortable with these sanctions. Athletes compete in the Olympics from numerous countries that are at war. But after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the IOC hit Russia and Belarus with tough sanctions. So speaking at a press conference yesterday, IOC President Kirsty Coventry said Russian athletes shouldn’t be blamed for Moscow’s actions.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
KIRSTY COVENTRY: We don’t condone any wars, including this one. I don’t believe athletes should pay the price.
MANN: Now, Coventry says some restrictions will remain in place, at least for now. The Russian flag and national anthem still aren’t allowed at Olympic events, but the IOC has signaled that, too, could change before the LA Games.
MARTIN: You know, Brian, the IOC made this change very soon after Russian cruise missile strikes killed civilians in Kyiv. So how are Ukrainians reacting to this?
MANN: Well, they’re really angry. Vladyslav Heraskevych, a Ukrainian Olympic skeleton sled racer, told NPR this decision will allow Russian athletes to compete, even if they’re part of the war effort.
VLADYSLAV HERASKEVYCH: What we see in Russia – Russian athletes are involved in propaganda. So Russian athletes are taking active part, and they’re involved in activities in some propaganda events.
MANN: So Ukraine’s Olympic committee also pointed out that hundreds of Ukrainian athletes, Michel, have been killed since the full-scale invasion.
MARTIN: And Russian athletes have also been involved in numerous large doping scandals over the years. And what is the IOC saying about that?
MANN: Yeah. The IOC did acknowledge yesterday the Russian anti-doping agency called RUSADA still doesn’t meet international standards. The IOC says it’s going to be working to make sure Russian athletes are clean ahead of the LA Games. But I spoke with Travis Tygart, who heads the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He points out Russian doping has caused scandals at multiple Olympics, including Sochi and again at Beijing. He fears that could happen again in LA.
TRAVIS TYGART: We don’t want to have, here in the United States, a Sochi-type Olympics that was defrauded by state-sponsored doping out of Russia. And until we can get some proof that that’s not going to happen, it’s really hard to get your head around them just carte blanche coming back into competition.
MANN: So Tygart says he’ll be watching in the coming months to see how transparent Russia is willing to be.
MARTIN: We asked how Ukraine is responding, so I think it’s only fair to ask – how’s Russia responding to this IOC decision?
MANN: Well, they’re celebrating. Russia’s minister of sport, Mikhail Degtyarev, issued a statement saying – and I’m quoting here – “the return of our country into the Olympic family is a green light toward full restoration of the rights of our athletes.” The IOC is still allowing federations – individual sports federations that govern some athletic events – to impose their own restrictions on Russian athletes. That’s still a concern in Moscow. But overall, here, Russians are describing this as a big win.
MARTIN: That is NPR’s Brian Mann. Brian, thank you.
MANN: Thank you.
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
