The International Olympic Committee published on Friday a third list of Russian athletes invited to participate under a neutral banner in the Olympic Games (July 26-August 11).
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) published on Friday a third, restricted list of Russian athletes invited to participate under a neutral banner in the Paris Olympics (July 26-August 11), Moscow being under sanction because of the invasion of Ukraine. The list, supposed to be further updated as the Games approach, includes 50 Russian or Belarusian athletes, but only 20 have confirmed their presence to date.
While four Russian judokas were authorized to compete on Friday, the Russian judo federation decided overnight to completely boycott the Olympics. In canoeing, two Russians and two Belarusians were authorized on Friday, without reaction from the federations concerned. Several other invited athletes refused to participate, such as the 21st tennis player in the world, Karen Khachanov. Here are the main Russian athletes invited to date.
Struggle
Bronze medalist at the 2023 Worlds in freestyle -65 kg in Belgrade, freestyle wrestler Shamil Mamedov, 23, also won the Junior World Championship in 2021 in Ufa, Russia. He carries Russian hopes of an Olympic medal in Paris, in the absence of Abdulrashid Sadulaev, double Olympic champion, who was deprived of qualifying because of his support for the offensive in Ukraine. U23 European Champion in 2024 in Baku, Arslan Bagaev (86 kg), 20, also won a bronze medal at the U23 World Championship in 2023 in Tirana. He too will be able to go to Paris.
Tennis
Daniil Medvedev, winner of the 2021 US Open, is by far the most famous of the Russians invited to the Olympics. The winner of the Masters 1000 in Rome in 2023 and finalist of the Australian Open in January, is however not at the top of his form and clay is not his strong point. The current world number 5 was eliminated in the 8th at Roland-Garros and Monte-Carlo, and in the quarter-finals in Madrid this year.
On the women’s side, Mirra Andreeva, ranked 24th in the world at 17, is invited to play in Paris at the Games. She has just achieved the feat of eliminating the Belarusian world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka at Roland-Garros in early June, qualifying for the first time for a Grand Slam semi-final. Revealed at the Masters 1000 in Madrid at 15, the protégé of the Spanish Conchita Martinez, failed to reach the final, after being beaten by Jasmine Paolini, another novice at this level.
Trampoline
Anzhela Bladtceva, 18, is the reigning trampoline world vice-champion, so she can hope for an Olympic medal this summer. In 2021, she won the European Junior Championship title both individually and in the team event.
Road cycling
Alena Ivanchenko, a Russian cyclist, became the 2021 junior world champion in Bruges, Belgium, at the age of 17, after having been crowned junior European champion the same year in Trento, Italy. Aged 20, Ivanchenko rides for the UAE Team ADQ (UCI Women World Team). She is currently ranked world number 199 in the UCI rankings.
