Allowing Russia back into the Olympics undermines what the games represent

Russia is one step closer to full participation in the next Olympics after the International Olympic Committee voted Tuesday to lift the 2023 suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee “provisionally” for violations of the Olympic Charter related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Back in 2023, Russia was found to have incorporated sports organizations from occupied Ukrainian territory into the Russian committee’s own structure, to try to legitimize through sport Russia’s illegal war and attempted annexation of parts of Ukraine. This was a gross desecration of the Olympic spirit — sportswashing the insult on top of the deadly conflict.

But nothing that justified the 2023 suspension has changed, and the decision this week undermines everything the Olympics purports to represent.

The new announcement came as Russian ballistic and cruise missiles were killing dozens of Ukrainians and injuring hundreds more over the past week, in some of the worst bombing since the full-scale invasion was launched in 2022 (the initial invasion occurred in 2014). Russian bombings have also destroyed more than 800 sports facilities, including 20 Olympic, Paralympic and Deaflympic training centers.

“We wanted to ensure all athletes have the possibility to compete at the Olympic Games and not be held responsible for their governments’ actions,” International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said in a news conference in explaining the decision. “And I believe that this is what this decision speaks to. It allows for Russian athletes to take part in sport competitions, but we’ve also been very clear that we don’t condone any violence and war around the........

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