IOC lifts Belarusian athlete restrictions, opening path to 2028 Olympic qualification

The International Olympic Committee has cleared the way for Belarusian athletes to return to international competition under their own flag, a sharp reversal that could reshape the road to the Los Angeles 2028 Games just as qualifying begins this summer.

In a statement issued May 7, the IOC Executive Board said it no longer recommended restrictions on the participation of Belarusian athletes, including teams, in competitions run by international federations and sports-event organizers. It also lifted the participation conditions issued on February 28, 2022 and March 28, 2023 as they relate to Belarus, including the protective measures that had been imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Belarus serving as a staging ground.

The practical effect is significant. Belarusian athletes should now be able to compete under their national name, flag and anthem in team sports and enter qualifying events for LA28 as well as the Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games, both of which begin qualifying this summer. The IOC said Belarusian athletes had already competed as Individual Neutral Athletes at Paris 2024 and Milano Cortina 2026 without incident, but the new ruling moves Belarus much closer to full reinstatement.

The IOC said the National Olympic Committee of Belarus is in good standing and complies with the Olympic Charter, underscoring the standards it used to justify lifting the restrictions. It also tied the decision to its broader Fit for the Future process, saying athlete access to sport free from political interference had been reaffirmed by the IOC Executive Board in September 2025 and again at the Olympic Summit in December 2025.

But the decision did not close the book on sanctions. World Athletics has kept its own restrictions on the Belarus Athletic Federation in place since March 10, 2022, and said they would remain for the foreseeable future. Those sanctions bar Belarus from hosting international events, from representation at Congress and from accreditation to World Athletics Series events, leaving one of the most important Olympic sports outside the IOC’s new line.

The IOC’s move also preserves the stark divide between Belarus and Russia. The Russian Olympic Committee remains suspended while the IOC Legal Affairs Commission continues its review, and the IOC cited concerns about information that led the World Anti-Doping Agency to examine Russia’s anti-doping system. That split means Belarus may be moving back toward the Olympic mainstream while Russia remains locked out, a distinction that will shape both qualifying disputes and the politics of the 2028 cycle.