RT-Engels: 22-03-2025,
Kirsty Coventry has pledged to open talks on Russia’s potential return to the Games
Incoming International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry has said she does not support banning athletes from the Olympics based on their countries’ involvement in armed conflicts. In an interview to Sky News on Friday, she also announced plans to initiate discussions about Russia’s return to competition.
Russian and Belarusian athletes were prohibited from competing in the Games shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. The IOC also insisted that international sports federations follow suit, leading to both countries being excluded from major global sporting events. The committee later allowed some athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in the Games as individuals under neutral flags, including at the Paris Olympics in 2024, while national teams have remained barred.
When asked by Sky News a day after being elected to the post whether she opposed banning nations from the Olympics due to military conflicts, Coventry said: “I am, but I believe each situation must be considered individually.”
Coventry, who is now set to become the first woman and the first African to head the IOC, also pledged to establish a task force to develop “some policies and some guiding frameworks that we as the movement can use to make decisions when we are brought into conflicts.”
The former Olympic swimmer, who won two gold medals for Zimbabwe,