What Is AIN at the 2024 Olympics?
There are a lot of Russian athletes at the summer Olympic Games in Paris—but is Russia competing in the 2024 Olympics? Not quite.
Athletes from Russia are competing at the 2024 Olympics under the delegation of "AIN," which stands for "Athlètes Individuels Neutres," or "Individual Neutral Athletes." It's not the first time that Russian athletes have been relegated to competing at the Olympics under a banner other than that of their actual homeland. Here's why it's happening and what it means.
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Is Russia competing in the 2024 Olympics?
Russia is banned from competing as a nation in the 2024 Olympics, but individual athletes from Russia are allowed to compete under the AIN banner. This, effectively, prevents most individual athletes from being punished for the actions of their country of origin.
Russia has been banned from the 2024 Olympics due to their invasion of Ukraine. Belarus, a Russian ally, is also banned for the same reason: The invasion of Ukraine violated a specific Olympic charter called the Olympic Truce. The Olympic Truce stipulates that no countries participating in the Olympics will invade one another for one week before the games begin through the first full week after the Paralympic Games end. Because Russia invaded Ukraine within the first week following the Winter Olympics in 2022, it's considered an Olympic Truce violation.
While most athletes can still compete under the AIN delegation, no Russian emblems, anthems, flags or leaders are allowed to be displayed or present at the games.
In 2021, Russian athletes competed in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo under the team name "Russian Olympic Committee," or "ROC." The prior Russian ban was due to doping that was uncovered in 2017.
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What is AIN in the Olympics?
AIN is the banner under which athletes from banned countries can still compete in the Olympics. It stands for "Individual Neutral Athletes" (the abbreviation uses the French translation, which is "Athlètes Individuels Neutres").
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Who was banned from the 2024 Olympics?
Belarus and Russia were banned from the 2024 Olympics.
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How many AIN athletes are in the 2024 Olympics?
A total of 32 athletes are competing under the AIN banner at the Paris Olympics in summer 2024 after their countries were banned from the games.
It's important to note that AIN is only for individual athletes in individual events, not teams—so not all Russian athletes are eligible to compete under the AIN designation.
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What Russian athletes are in the Olympics in 2024?
A total of 15 athletes from Russia are competing in the 2024 Olympics under the AIN banner. They are:
Ekaterina Aleksandrova (tennis)
Mirra Andreeva (tennis)
Pavel Kotov (tennis)
Daniil Medvedev (tennis)
Roman Safiullin (tennis)
Diana Shnaider (tennis)
Elena Vesnina (tennis)
Aleksei Korovashkov (canoeing)
Zakhar Petrov (canoeing)
Olesia Romasenko (canoeing)
Evgenii Somov (swimming)
Tamara Dronova (bicycling)
Alena Ivanchenko (bicycling)
Gleb Syritsa (bicycling)
Anzhela Bladtceva (trampoline)
Belarus has 17 athletes competing in the AIN designation. They are:
Hanna Tserakh (bicycling)
Anastasiya Shkurdai (swimming)
Ilya Shymanovich (swimming)
Alina Zmushka (swimming)
Georgiy Gurtsiev (Tae Kwon Do)
Yauheni Tshikhantsou (weight lifting)
Siuzanna Valodzka (weight lifting)
Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau (wrestling)
Abubakar Khaslakhanau (wrestling)
Darya Chuprys (shooting)
Aliaksandra Piatrova (shooting)
Uladzislau Kravets (canoeing)
Yuliya Trushkina (canoeing)
Tatsiana Klimovich (rowing)
Yauheni Zalaty (rowing)
Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya (trampoline)
Ivan Litvinovich (trampoline)
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