MOSCOW, Sep 2The head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Stanislav Pozdnyakov, told reporters that the ROC would insist on the full participation of all Russian athletes in the qualification period for the 2024 Olympics. Earlier, former World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Craig Reedy expressed the opinion that Russian athletes would not be able to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.» We will insist on the full participation of all our athletes during the qualifying period, but there are many details that need to be worked out. Naturally, all diplomatic steps of our organization will be aimed at this. Diplomacy loves silence, so in the near future time, I think, there will be no loud statements. Our athletes should never stop actively training and preparing for the Olympic Games. This is necessary so that at the moment when our partners realize the need to return our athletes, they are fully equipped to overcome qualifications and go to the Olympics,» said the head OKR.» Contacts with the International Olympic Committee? I can't say everything, but we have been in contact since February 24th. These contacts have not gone anywhere. Date and point of no return for the 2024 Olympics? The most important thing is to start qualifying competitions for the Olympics. This is an absolute priority for us. I can’t say that there is any specific date and point of no return, because each sport has its own qualification system. The phrase «point of no return» is absolutely inapplicable to this situation, «Pozdnyakov said. At the end of February, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in competitions due to the situation in Ukraine. A number of international federations excluded Russians and Belarusians from competitions under their auspices, as well as canceled the competition in Russia, other federations allowed athletes in a neutral status. The 2024 Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11 in Paris.
