A little over a month ago, viewers all over the world tuned into the 2024 Olympic Games held in Paris, France. These are games that historically bring nations together through the spirit of athletics. However, Russian athletes who were found to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should have been held more accountable and been unable to compete.   

This year, Russia faced an International Olympic Committee ban due to its illegal invasion of Ukraine just two weeks after the 2022 Beijing Olympics. 

In the past, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has had an inconsistent basis for banning countries from the Olympic Games.

For instance, the IOC has not addressed Israel’s active pursuit of a brutal war, and Israel was allowed to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games.

Previously, the United States and the United Kingdom were also able to pursue the eternal flame while fighting in Iraq: a war that was described as “illegal” for violating the U.N. charter by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2004. 

Ches Thurber, a political science professor at NIU who specializes in international conflict, peace-building and global governance explains that Iraq likely wanted to send athletes to participate in the Olympics to uphold its reputation.    

“U.S. invasion probably did quite a bit of damage to Iraq’s Olympic sport system. I’m not sure how developed it was, but I presume that the autocratic Saddam Hussein regime still likes to send some athletes off to the Olympics and try to make Iraq look good,” Thurber said. “And their facilities were probably bombed. Many of their athletes were probably killed, but I think most Americans would think it would have been unfair if the United States had been banned from the Olympics for the invasion of Iraq.”

North Korea, similarly, participates in inhumane actions against civilians. While it was banned from participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics, the ban was due to an improper withdrawal in 2020. In other words, North Korea was banned for failing to participate in the previous summer Olympics.

Surely improper withdrawal is not as grave as the political and humanitarian crimes North Korea commits. 

Even the IOC admits that they can not apply the same standards to all countries and athletes. 

“Nor can they (the IOC) address all the political and social challenges in our world. This is the realm of politics. But the Olympic Games can set an example for a world where everyone respects the same rules and one another,” said the IOC’s website. 

Yet, they do not uphold the same rules for all and allow their own rules to be disregarded. 

So what warrants Russia’s ban from the IOC? 

By invading Ukraine in 2022 Russia violated the tradition of ekecheiria or “Olympic Truce.” Ekecheiria stems from Ancient Greece when all war and conflict had to be paused to allow people to safely travel into and out of Olympia for the games. 

The Olympic Truce was reviewed and reinstated as a part of the IOC’s mission in 1992. Conflicts must be stopped seven days prior to the games through seven days after the Paralympic Games to ensure peace for the unity of sport.  

“The Games will bring together athletes from all parts of the world in the greatest of international sports events as a means to promote peace, mutual understanding and goodwill among nations and peoples – goals that are also part of the founding values of the United Nations,” said United Nations General Assembly President Dennis Francis.

This is not Russia’s first violation of the Olympic Truce.

The invasion of Ukraine in 2014 occurred at the end of the Sochi Olympics, and the full invasion of Ukraine in 2022 began only two days after the Beijing Olympics. 

The trend shows that Putin is an opportunist using this unifying event to distract from destruction. It also demonstrates his indifference towards the Olympic Truce. 

The IOC has ultimately enforced accountability toward Russia with the 2024 ban just as they should have in 2008 and 2014, instead of letting Russia host the 2014 games. 

However, the IOC still allowed Russian athletes to participate separately from their country in 2024 as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs). 

The Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel (A.I.N.E.R.P) was created in March 2024 to evaluate the eligibility of each athlete. The panel used the specific eligibility principles to clarify how Russian athletes could compete. 

AINs also cannot break neutrality rules via media and social media before, during or after the games. 

Through these conditions, Russian and Belorussian athletes were able to engage in Olympic competition. 

However, of the AINs, 33 of 59 athletes violated the initial standards set by the IOC, according to Global Rights Compliance, a non-profit humanitarian foundation. 

More specifically, 67% of the Russian and 44% of the Belarusian athletes should not have been allowed to compete as per the eligibility principles. 

Cyclist Alena Ivanchenko was found to have liked pro-war posts on social media. These posts included content that invalidated Ukraine’s right to sovereignty and supported the annexation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. 

Tennis player Elena Vesinina has also liked posts displaying hate and the pro-war symbol “Z,” as well as posts showing Russian soldiers killing Ukrainian soldiers. 

Yauhani Zalaty, a rower from Belarus, is also a part of the Belarusian armed forces, despite the IOC’s eligibility rules prohibiting members of the Russian or Belarusian military from participating. 

This double standard seems to continue the Olympics’ habit of willfully ignoring violations. However, this summer the Olympics ignored a set of rules it enforced less than a year ago. 

Allowing AINs to participate despite their actions being directly against conditions set by the IOC eliminates the goal of the Olympic Truce, makes the ban’s selection process unfair and undermines the ban of Russia and Belarus altogether. 

The IOC needs to structure its standards and apply them justly. 

Russia’s ban was valid because the nation clearly violated the Olympic Truce. 

 It is unfair for the IOC to make statements about maintaining the spirit of sports and peace while allowing this double standard. 

After all, other countries have been barred for far pettier offenses. If the IOC is on the side of humanity, it will apply these standards entirely or alter regulations to be consistent. Acting otherwise would deem the Olympic Truce meaningless.