Lausanne (dpa) – Despite the measures taken against Russian athletes, the International Olympic Committee is not currently planning to exclude the Russian IOC members.
Neither former pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva nor Russia’s tennis boss Shamil Tarpishchev could be suspended under the governing body’s rules, the British “Sunday Times” reported, citing an IOC spokesman. The IOC emphasized that only the governments of Russia and Belarus are being targeted for breaking the Olympic truce, because only they can make decisions about war and peace.
Former world-class athlete Isinbayeva was elected to the IOC in 2016. Tarpishchev has even been a member of the currently 105-strong ring circle since 1994. Because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the IOC recently called on all associations to ban athletes from Russia and Ukraine from all international competitions. However, the IOC has so far ruled out a suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and thus a stop to all payments.