PARIS– Rarely on the podium and prevented from participating in the opening ceremony, the 15 Russians competing in the Paris Olympics have an uncomfortable status as “individual neutral athletes” following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Some people in the Olympic Village have opposed participation in the Summer Olympics and Russian opinion is divided.
In Russia, the Olympics are not being shown on TV and some politicians and media figures have even described those willing to compete in Paris as traitors.
It’s a complex environment for the athletes, some of them teenagers, to navigate and they are wary of talking about politics or war.
“My family is proud of me, that’s all that matters,” said tennis player Diana Shnaider, who will play the women’s doubles last Sunday.
The 20-year-old former college player from North Carolina State said it was “amazing” to be at her first Olympics.
“There are still a lot of people from my country in the stands and they are still very supportive. I heard words of encouragement today,” she said after winning in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Tennis players like Shnaider and 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev are used to dealing with the media and playing around the world without a Russian flag. Others seem a little overwhelmed.
Anzhela Bladtceva, a 19-year-old trampolinist, placed fifth in her event on Friday and clutched a stuffed animal as she spoke to the media afterwards.
“There are so many emotions, so many people, everyone is so kind and happy and helpful,” she said.
Bladtceva said she was spending time in the Olympic Village with a trampolinist friend from Azerbaijan and was not asked about the war. “No one asks anything, they ask if it was difficult for us to get here, only positive questions. No one is saying bad things,” she said.
National delegations sailed down the River Seine in a flotilla of boats at the opening ceremony, but neutral athletes were not included.
“It’s upsetting that they didn’t leave, but what can you do?” said Bladtceva, who was still in Russia for the ceremony. “I didn’t really watch it.”
Of the 32 “neutral” athletes in Paris, 17 previously represented Belarus and only 15 represented Russia. That compares to more than 300 Russians at the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
International Olympic Committee restrictions have banned Russian athletes who are in the military or publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine. The IOC also blocked Russians from team sports. Athletics imposed its own blanket ban.
In gymnastics and weightlifting, Russian teams skipped qualifiers in protest at being forced to compete as neutrals or undergo checks, including checks of their social media.
Some athletes even qualified, accepted the IOC invitations and then withdrew weeks before the start of the Olympics. It was unclear whether they made this decision under pressure at home. The IOC lists 10 Russians and one Belarusian who “initially accepted but later refused.”
Wrestler Shamil Mamedov appeared to briefly challenge the Russian wrestling federation’s decision not to send athletes. The federation later told Russian state news agency Tass that Mamedov was out of the Olympics due to an old injury.
Not yet, but Shnaider and her 17-year-old doubles partner Mirra Andreeva secured at least silver against Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini of Italy last Sunday night.
Belarusian neutral athletes won gold and silver medals in the men’s and women’s trampoline competitions, respectively, Friday.
When a neutral athlete wins a gold medal, an “anthem” commissioned by the IOC is played. With moving strings and a prominent drum beat, it feels more like the soundtrack to an inspirational video than a national anthem. Their medals do not count in the Olympic organizers’ official medal table.
Russian athletes competed at the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo under the name “Russian Olympic Committee” and under less onerous restrictions following a doping scandal.
They were allowed to wear national colors and music by Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky played for gold medalists.
At least 82 athletes at the Paris Olympics were born in Russia, including neutral athletes, according to statistics from Norwegian broadcaster NRK. That leaves more than 60 competing for other nations.
Some lived outside Russia for years or moved abroad as children. Others have changed their sporting allegiance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Swimmer Anastasia Kirpichnikova competed for the ROC at the Tokyo Olympics. She trained in France for years before becoming an official with the French national team last year. Kirpichnikova won the silver medal for France in the women’s 1,500 meter freestyle behind Katie Ledecky on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s government and Olympic committee wanted Russian athletes excluded from all international sports and opposed the IOC’s efforts to include them as neutrals. Limited Russian presence is like “nothing”, says head of Ukraine’s Olympic delegation told the Associated Press this week.
Ukraine briefly had a policy of boycott of Olympic qualifying competitions which allowed Russians to participate, but withdrew last year because they ran the risk of not being represented at the Olympics.
Ukrainian activists gathered intelligence on Russian athletes’ social media in the months leading up to the Olympics, flagging posts to the IOC that they considered supporting the war.
Some Ukrainians also view changes in allegiance with suspicion. Fencing champion Olga Kharlan said last month that Russian athletes who switched allegiances to teams in other countries after the invasion “should be more controlled”.
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Associated Press writers Angela Charlton and Tom Nouvian contributed to this report.
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