Commentary: ‘Politically neutral’ Russian athletes can now enter the Olympics – but don’t expect many to compete

As a more palatable approach, Western leaders could ban athletes from Russia and Belarus from competing in international athletic competitions in Western Europe in the run-up to the games. This would likely make it impossible for any athletes from those countries to qualify for spots in Paris.

As historian Heather Dichter has shown, travel bans have a long history in the Olympics.

In the 1960s, there was a NATO-wide ban on East German athletes travelling to compete in events in Western European countries. This effectively barred them from participation in several major sporting competitions and from qualifying for the Olympics.

Some Western leaders have already attempted to use this strategy against Russian and Belarussian athletes. Polish President Andrzej Duda refused to issue visas to Russian and Belarussian fencers for a qualification competition in June. The International Fencing Federation moved the matches to Bulgaria where the neutral athletes could compete.

As a more drastic step, French officials could simply ban all Russian and Belarussian athletes from travelling to Paris during the Olympics. The committee would likely have no recourse at this late date.

It would align with the approach of some other EU member nations that ban Russian tourism and travel.

However, the French National Olympic Committee would likely oppose such a move. They might worry that it threatens the viability of their likely future 2030 Winter Olympic Games.

At a time when so much international attention has turned to the Israel-Hamas war, will leaders, however frustrated, do anything in response?

Only time will tell, but one thing’s for sure: Whatever happens will be carefully calculated to account for the vast array of geopolitical moving parts.

Keith Rathbone is Senior Lecturer in Modern European History and Sports History at Macquarie University. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation.