Belarusian and Russian athletes are competing under the Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) flag at the Olympics in Paris (IOC)
Russian and Belarusian athletes are competing as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) at the Olympics in Paris.
At the previous Olympics in Tokyo, Russian athletes were forced to compete under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee – or ROC for short – after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) handed Russia a four-year ban in 2019 for running a state-sponsored doping scheme.
Belarus, meanwhile, were permitted to compete in Tokyo without restrictions and ended the Games with seven medals, including one gold for Ivan Litvinovich in the men’s trampoline.
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For this summer’s Olympics, both Russia and Belarus are banned from sending teams to Paris due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has been supported by Belarus.
Instead, individual athletes from Russia and Belarus have been invited to compete providing that they meet ‘strict eligibility conditions’ set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
All athletes who have been invited to Paris have been checked by an IOC panel to make sure that they have not endorsed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or have any military links.
FULL LIST OF AIN ATHLETES AT THE OLYMPICS
Road Cycling
Tamara Dronova (Russia)
Alena Ivanchenko (Russia)
Gleb Syritsa (Russia)
Hanna Tserakh (Belarus)
Gymnastics – Trampoline
Anzhela Bladtceva (Russia)
Ivan Litvinovich (Belarus)
Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya (Belarus)
Taekwondo
Georgiy Gurtsiev (Belarus)
Weightlifting
Siuzanna Valodzka (Belarus)
Yauheni Tsikhantsou (Belarus)
Wrestling
Abubakar Khaslakhanau (Belarus)
Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau (Belarus)
Rowing
Yauheni Zalaty (Belarus)
Tatsiana Klimovich (Belarus)
Shooting
Darya Chuprys (Belarus)
Aliaksandra Piatrova (Belarus)
Tennis
Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
Roman Safiullin (Russia)
Ekaterina Aleksandrova (Russia)
Mirra Andreeva (Russia)
Pavel Kotov (Russia)
Diana Shnaider (Russia)
Elena Vesnina (Russia)
Canoe
Aleksei Korovashkov (Russia)
Zakhar Petrov (Russia)
Olesia Romasenko (Russia)
Uladzislau Kravets (Belarus)
Yuliya Trushkina (Belarus)
Swimming
Evgenii Somov (Russia)
Alina Zmushka (Belarus)
Ilya Shymanovich (Belarus)
Anastasiya Shkurdai (Belarus)
Several athletes from both Russia and Belarus have turned down invites to compete in Paris, including Andrey Rublev, who won gold in the tennis doubles in Tokyo.
Russian and Belarusian athletes who will compete in Paris will not be able wear their national colours, display their flag or play their anthem.
Russia and Belarus are also banned from entering any team sports at the Olympics.
Daniil Medvedev competed under the Russian Olympic Committee in Tokyo (Getty)
Ivan Litvinovich won Belarus’ only gold in Tokyo (AFP via Getty)
What is AIN?
The AIN acronym means Athlete Individuel Neutre, which is French for individual neutral athlete.
What is the AIN anthem?
The IOC has created a special anthem for AIN athletes which has no lyrics and is to be played during medal ceremonies.
The AIN anthem can be listened to by clicking here.
Rules for AIN athletes
AIN athletes will not participate in the parade of teams during the opening ceremony.
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During the medal ceremonies, the AIN flag will be flown and the AIN anthem will be played for the winning athletes.
Medals won by AIN athletes will not be displayed in the overall medal table.
A decision regarding the participation of AIN athletes in the closing ceremony is yet to be made but remains a possibility as it is not teams that enter the closing ceremony but all athletes together.
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