Belarus
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, right, speaks at the opening of the executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. The IOC Executive Board is set to discuss the results of consultations regarding the status of athletes from Russia and Belarus in its meeting set to run until March 30. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
IOC details advice to let Russia, Belarus athletes return

By Graham Dunbar And James Ellingworth 9 hrs ago

Members of the Geneva branch of Ukrainian society in Switzerland protest during a rally to urge International Olympic Committee to reconsider their decision of participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes under white neutral flag at the next 2024 Paris Olympic Games, in front of the IOC headquarters, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Saturday, March 25, 2023. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
Hundreds of fencers protest against letting Russians compete

14 hrs ago

Paris Olympics organizers looking for 45,000 volunteers

Mar. 21, 2023 07:04 AM EDT
PARIS (AP) — The Paris Olympics is putting out a call for 45,000 helpers. Organizers of the 2024 Games are launching a drive this week to recruit tens...

FILE - The Olympic rings are seen on the Place du Trocadero that overlooks the Eiffel Tower, after the vote in Lima, Peru, awarding the 2024 Games to the French capital, in Paris, Sept. 13, 2017. Organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympics promised Games with a relatively modest price tag and "egalitarian" access to events, thanks to an online draw meant to revolutionize ticket sales and bring the masses to next year's Olympics with prices as low as 24 euros ($26). But as the first round of ticketing winds down, many "lucky" winners chosen for the draw are feeling frustrated, angry and cheated, as their only option during the 48-hour purchasing window was paying at least 200 euros per ticket for the few remaining events on offer. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
Britain lobbies Olympic sponsors over IOC's Russia stance

Mar. 10, 2023 07:02 PM EST

FILE - Fencers compete in the men's individual semifinal Sabre competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on July 24, 2021, in Chiba, Japan. Four national fencing federations say the International Fencing Federation has voted to allow athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus to resume competing in international events. They have been excluded for more than a year because of the invasion of Ukraine. The decision appears to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete for qualifying spots for next year’s Paris Olympics. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Fencing votes to let Russians compete ahead of Olympics

Mar. 10, 2023 02:19 PM EST

FILE - The Olympic rings are set up at Trocadero plaza that overlooks the Eiffel Tower, a day after the official announcement that the 2024 Summer Olympic Games will be in the French capital, in Paris, France, on Sept. 14, 2017. One year after the invasion of Ukraine began, Russia's reintegration into the world of sports threatens to create the biggest rift in the Olympic movement since the Cold War.(AP Photo//Michel Euler, File)
Paris Olympics sports bodies seek IOC clarity on Russia

By Graham Dunbar Mar. 03, 2023 11:42 AM EST

Elina Svitolina talks during an interview with The Associated Press in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Ukrainian tennis player and Olympic bronze medalist Elina Svitolina has pushed for a total ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Paris Games in an interview with The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Svitolina calls for Russians to be banned from Olympics

By Hanna Arhirova Feb. 08, 2023 10:27 AM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2014 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and IOC President Thomas Bach meet in the Bolshoi Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia. The question of if and how Russia competes at the Olympics hangs over the 2024 Paris Summer Games. Just as it has now for five straight Olympics during Thomas Bach’s leadership of the IOC. The Bach-led International Olympic Committee's support this week for some Russians to compete in Paris as neutrals was publicly challenged Friday, Jan. 27, 2023 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service via AP, file)
Olympic echoes of boycott era as Ukraine vs IOC intensifies

Feb. 03, 2023 03:12 PM EST

FILE - Former heavyweight boxing world champion Wladimir Klitschko leaves after a meeting with German Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck in Berlin, March 31, 2022. Olympic gold medalist Wladimir Klitschko has joined Ukraine’s fight against IOC plans to let some Russians compete at the 2024 Paris Summer Games, it was announced Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. The former heavyweight world champion has suggested in a video message sports leaders will be accomplices to the war if athletes from Russia and its military ally Belarus can compete at the next Olympics. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)
Boxer Klitschko joins fight against Olympic path for Russia

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 31, 2023 11:05 AM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2014 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and IOC President Thomas Bach meet in the Bolshoi Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia. The question of if and how Russia competes at the Olympics hangs over the 2024 Paris Summer Games. Just as it has now for five straight Olympics during Thomas Bach’s leadership of the IOC. The Bach-led International Olympic Committee's support this week for some Russians to compete in Paris as neutrals was publicly challenged Friday, Jan. 27, 2023 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service via AP, file)
Russia issue looms for Paris Olympics, Zelenskyy rebukes IOC

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 28, 2023 09:36 AM EST

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, attend a news conference with European Council President Charles Michel after their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
IOC seeks pathway to let Russians compete at Paris Olympics

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 25, 2023 01:37 PM EST

International Olympic Committee, IOC, President Thomas Bach attends the opening of the Executive Board meeting at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, Dec. 5, 2022. (Denis Balibouse/Keystone via AP, Pool)
Russia may join sports events in Asia ahead of 2024 Olympics

Dec. 09, 2022 09:28 AM EST

Russia eyes 2024 Paris Olympics despite sports bans

Jul. 26, 2022 07:18 AM EDT
PARIS (AP) — With two years to go until the Paris Olympics open, Russia is making plans for its athletes to live and compete in the French capital even though many...

Yaroslava Mahuchikh, of Ukraine, competes during qualifying for the women's high jump at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday, July 16, 2022, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Ukraine on her mind as high jumper goes for gold at worlds

By Eddie Pells Jul. 16, 2022 01:32 PM EDT

Romania's Simona Halep returns to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in a women's singles semifinal match on day eleven of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Wimbledon updates | Russian-born Rybakina lives 'on tour'

Jul. 07, 2022 03:35 PM EDT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaks during a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Zelenskyy praises IOC for supporting bans on Russian sport

Jul. 04, 2022 08:49 AM EDT

South Africa's Luxolo Adams, left, leads the back to win the 200 meters men during the Diamond League athletics meeting at Charlety stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Track and field to leave multi-sport European Championships

Jun. 20, 2022 10:32 AM EDT

FILE - Flags are shown on the south side of Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., Thursday, June 18, 2020. Barring a sudden, unexpected end to the war in Ukraine, athletes from Russia and Belarus will be banned from next month's track and field world championships, which marks the largest international sports event since the end of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP, File)
Russians out of track worlds barring unexpected end to war

By Eddie Pells Jun. 02, 2022 09:55 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Russian athletes during an awarding ceremony for the Russian Olympic Committee's medalists of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing and members of the Russian Paralympic team in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Bach says Russia ban is to protect athletes, not punish them

By Graham Dunbar May. 20, 2022 09:08 AM EDT

Russian seeks to keep senior role at skating federation

By Graham Dunbar Apr. 27, 2022 01:14 PM EDT
GENEVA (AP) — A Russian official was among the candidates announced Wednesday for the International Skating Union’s elections in June, if he is allowed to stand to...