Oleg Matytsin plans 180 Russian athletes at the Paris Olympics if his country is reinstated

Despite its reservations, Russia seems to have accepted the IOC’s conditions regarding the participation of its athletes in international competitions and possibly in the Paris Games if the International Olympic Committee decides to accept Russians there, which is not (yet ?) the case. According to the T*** agency, Vladimir Putin and his Minister of Sports Oleg Matytsin raised the subject during an interview, the latter indulging in projections on the number of Russian athletes in Paris.

Matytsin estimated at around 180 the number of Russian athletes who, under current conditions, could participate in Parisian competitions, ***uming that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decides in favor of their reinstatement. A figure which is based on the qualification events and the conditions of participation which have been fixed (neutral colors, no link with the army or public support for the Russian offensive in Ukraine, etc.). This also takes into account the fact that Russia remains excluded from team competitions.

In 2021, at the Tokyo Olympics, the Russian delegation had 333 athletes who won 71 medals to finish in fifth place in the medal standings.