The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The decision is based on the fact that the athletes have not taken part in FEI events since March 2, 2022 due to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions and therefore have not been able to collect the necessary points for Olympic qualification the FEI announced.
“According to the Olympic qualification system for equestrian sports, individual qualification is ensured through the FEI Olympic Rankings for Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, which cover the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023. As Russian and Belarusian athletes since March 2 “If they no longer took part in FEI competitions in 2022, there will be no representatives of these nations at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris,” the statement said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently declared that individual athletes from Russia and Belarus would be eligible to take part in the Summer Games in France’s capital despite the war under certain conditions, provided they meet the qualification conditions.
In mid-November, the FEI declared, with reference to the IOC, that it would allow Russians and Belarusians to be neutral athletes again and that the sanctions would be lifted. The ban on international competitions in Russia and Belarus remains. Both countries play no role in top international equestrian sport.