Foundation urges US Olympic committee to back Belarus athletes filtering

December 15, BPN. The Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) has urged the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to support special criteria for allowing Belarusian and Russian athletes to compete at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

The BSSF proposes “a special process of verification” for the “participation of Belarusian and Russian athletes in competitions in neutral status.”

These criteria would restrict the participation of “athletes who do not share universal human values,” openly supporting Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and the political crackdown in Belarus, the foundation said in an open letter.

On December 12, USOPC Chair Susanne Lyons told The Wall Street Journal that Belarusian and Russian athletes should be allowed to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in neutral status.