Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Individual Neutral Athletes, known in French as Athlètes individuels neutres (AIN), were 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus who competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics. They were allowed to take part because the International Olympic Committee had banned their countries from using their usual team names and symbols because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started in 2022.

These athletes could not use the Olympic flag or Olympic anthem like neutral athletes had in past games. Instead, they had a special teal flag with an AIN emblem and a unique instrumental anthem made just for these Olympics. Before they could compete, each athlete had to pass background checks and get approval from their sport’s governing body and a special group set up by the IOC.

Because they were individual athletes, they were not allowed to join any team events. They also could not march in the Parade of Nations during the opening ceremony or be listed in the official medal rankings. Even though the flag said “Individual Neutral Athlete,” the IOC referred to them using the plural, “Individual Neutral Athletes,” when talking about the group.

Background

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that Russia and Belarus could not take part in Olympic events in their usual way. This led to Russian and Belarusian athletes being unable to compete under their country’s name or flag at the 2022 Winter Paralympics.

In January 2023, the IOC suggested that some Russian and Belarusian athletes might be allowed to compete as neutral athletes, meaning they would not represent their countries officially. By March 2023, the IOC introduced the idea of "Individual Neutral Athletes" (AIN). This meant that only individual athletes could compete, not teams. The athletes would not use their country’s flag or anthem.

In March 2024, the IOC updated the look of the AIN flag and created a special anthem for these athletes. They would not march together as a country during the opening ceremony but could still take part in the events.

Medals summary

Further information: 2024 Summer Olympics medal table and List of 2024 Summer Olympics medal winners

Because of stricter rules linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the group of athletes from Russia won just one silver medal. This was a big drop from the 20 gold, 28 silver, and 23 bronze medals they won as the Russian Olympic Committee in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Athletes from Belarus also won fewer medals than before.

One athlete, Ivan Litvinovich, who competed for Belarus in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, successfully kept his Olympic title. He won gold again in the men's trampoline event, and it was the only gold medal for his group.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Country	Sport	Event	Date
Gold	Ivan Litvinovich	Belarus	Gymnastics	Men's trampoline	2 August
Silver	Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya	Belarus	Gymnastics	Women's trampoline	2 August
Silver	Yauheni Zalaty	Belarus	Rowing	Men's single sculls	3 August
Silver	Mirra Andreeva Diana Shnaider	Russia	Tennis	Women's doubles	4 August
Bronze	Yauheni Tsikhantsou	Belarus	Weightlifting	Men's – 102 kg	10 August

Competitors

The Individual Neutral Athletes team had 32 competitors from two nations. These competitors were from Belarus with 17 athletes, and from Russia with 15 athletes.

The full list of competitors is shown below:

Sport	Men		Women		Total
Sport	Belarus	Russia	Belarus	Russia	Total
Canoeing	1	2	1	1	5
Cycling	0	1	1	2	4
Gymnastics	1	0	1	1	3
Rowing	1	0	1	0	2
Shooting	0	0	2	0	2
Swimming	1	1	2	0	4
Taekwondo	1	0	0	0	1
Tennis	0	3	0	4	7
Weightlifting	1	0	1	0	2
Wrestling	2	0	0	0	2
Total	8	7	9	8	32

Canoeing

Main articles: Canoeing at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Canoeing at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Sprint

Some athletes from Individual Neutral Athletes qualified for the Games by getting the highest rank in some events at the 2024 European Canoe Sprint Qualifier in Szeged, Hungary.

Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)

Athlete	From	Event	Heats		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Zakhar Petrov	Russia	Men's C-1 1000 m	3:49.86	2 SF	Bye		3:45.99	3 FA	3:45.28	4
Alexey Korovashkov Zakhar Petrov		Men's C-2 500 m	1:38.65	1 SF	Bye		1:39.57	1 FA	1:41.27	4
Olesia Romasenko		Women's C-1 200 m	49.83	5 QF	47.92	4	Did not advance
Uladzislau Kravets	Belarus	Men's K-1 1000 m	3:32.07	2 SF	Bye		3:29.64	4 FA	3:28.10	4
Yuliya Trushkina	Belarus	Women's C-1 200 m	46.15	2 SF	Bye		45.32	2 FA	44.83	5

Cycling

Main articles: Cycling at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Cycling at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Road

Four Individual Neutral Athletes were allowed to ride in the road race events. They earned their spots by doing well in the UCI Nation Ranking.

Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank
Gleb Syritsa	Russia	Men's road race	Did not finish
Gleb Syritsa		Men's time trial	40:33.30	31
Tamara Dronova		Women's road race	4:07:16	47
Tamara Dronova		Women's time trial	43:42.16	21
Alena Ivanchenko		Women's road race	4:10:47	72
Hanna Tserakh	Belarus	Women's road race	4:10:18	61
Hanna Tserakh	Belarus	Women's time trial	44:57.20	29

Gymnastics

Main articles: Gymnastics at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Gymnastics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Trampoline

Three Individual Neutral Athletes, one male and two females, joined the 2024 Summer Olympics trampoline competition. They got their spots by doing well in the World Cup Series.

Athlete	From	Event	Qualification		Final
Athlete	From	Event	Score	Rank	Score	Rank
Ivan Litvinovich	Belarus	Men's	63.420	1 Q	63.090
Anzhela Bladtceva	Russia	Women's	55.640	4 Q	55.020	5
Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya	Belarus	Women's	56.340	2 Q	56.060

Rowing

Main articles: Rowing at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Rowing at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Some rowers from Individual Neutral Athletes qualified for the Olympics. They earned their spots by competing in events held in Belgrade, Serbia, and Szeged, Hungary.

Athlete	From	Event	Heats		Repechage		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Yauheni Zalaty	Belarus	Men's single sculls	6:51.45	1 QF	Bye		6:49.27	1 SF	6:39.01	2 FA	6:42.96
Tatsiana Klimovich	Belarus	Women's single sculls	7:34.31	2 QF	Bye		7:34.30	3 SF	7:26.56	5 FB	7:25.61	8

Shooting

Main articles: Shooting at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Shooting at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Some shooters from the group of Individual Neutral Athletes earned spots to compete in certain events. They did this by performing well in the 2024 ISSF World Olympic Qualification Tournament and the 2024 European Championship.

Athlete	From	Event	Qualification		Final
Athlete	From	Event	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Aliaksandra Piatrova	Belarus	Women's 25 m pistol	566	39	Did not advance
Darya Chuprys	Belarus	Women's 50 m rifle 3 positions	579	24	Did not advance

Swimming

Main articles: Swimming at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Swimming at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Some athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to compete as individual neutral athletes in swimming at the 2024 Summer Olympics. They had to meet certain times to qualify, and only a limited number could take part in each event.

Athlete	From	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Evgenii Somov	Russia	Men's 50 m freestyle	23.43	44	Did not advance
Evgenii Somov	Russia	Men's 100 m breaststroke	59.83	13 Q	1:00.00	13	Did not advance
Ilya Shymanovich	Belarus	Men's 100 m breaststroke	59.25	3 Q	59.45	10	Did not advance
Anastasiya Shkurdai		Women's 100 m backstroke	1:00.94	20	Did not advance
Anastasiya Shkurdai		Women's 200 m backstroke	2:09.64	7 Q	2:08.79	8 Q	2:10.23	8
Alina Zmushka		Women's 100 m breaststroke	1:06.37	11 Q	1:05.93	5 Q	1:06.54	8
Alina Zmushka		Women's 200 m breaststroke	2:28.19	21	Did not advance

Taekwondo

Main articles: Taekwondo at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Taekwondo at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Some athletes from Russia and Belarus, including Maksim Khramtsov, Vladislav Larin, Tatiana Minina, and Polina Khan, had qualified to compete in taekwondo at the 2024 Summer Olympics. However, the International Olympic Committee did not allow them to compete as neutral athletes, so they were not invited to the Games.

Men

Athlete	From	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Final / BM
Athlete	From	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Georgiy Gurtsiev	Belarus	Men's −58 kg	Bye	Ravet (FRA) L 6–7, 3–5	Did not advance

Tennis

Main articles: Tennis at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Tennis at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Athlete	From	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
Athlete	From	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Daniil Medvedev	Russia	Men's singles	Hijikata (AUS) W 6–2, 6–1	Ofner (AUT) W 6–2, 6–2	Auger-Aliassime (CAN) L 3–6, 6–7^(5–7)	Did not advance
Roman Safiullin			Tabilo (CHI) W 6–4, 6–4	Etcheverry (ARG) W 6–0, 7–6^(7–1)	Alcaraz (ESP) L 4–6, 2–6	Did not advance
Pavel Kotov			Wawrinka (SUI) L 1–6, 1–6	Did not advance
Daniil Medvedev Roman Safiullin		Men's doubles	—N/a	Krawietz / Pütz (GER) L 4–6, 4–6	Did not advance
Ekaterina Alexandrova		Women's singles	Yuan (CHN) L 5–7, 7–6^(7–0), 2–6	Did not advance
Mirra Andreeva			Linette (POL) L 3–6, 4–6	Did not advance
Diana Shnaider			Cocciaretto (ITA) W 6–2, 7–5	Wang (CHN) L 3–6, 1–6	Did not advance
Ekaterina Alexandrova Elena Vesnina		Women's doubles	—N/a	Muchová / Nosková (CZE) L 6–2, 6–7^(5–7), [6–10]	Did not advance
Mirra Andreeva Diana Shnaider		Women's doubles	—N/a	Gadecki / Tomljanović (AUS) W 6–3, 2–6, [10–6]	Dabrowski / Fernandez (CAN) W 6–4, 6–0	Krejčíková / Siniaková (CZE) W 6–1, 7–5	Bucșa / Sorribes Tormo (ESP) W 6–1, 6–2	Errani / Paolini (ITA) L 6–2, 1–6, [7–10]
Mirra Andreeva Daniil Medvedev		Mixed doubles	—N/a		Errani / Vavassori (ITA) L 3–6, 2–6	Did not advance

Weightlifting

Main articles: Weightlifting at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Weightlifting at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Three Individual Neutral Athletes competed in weightlifting at the 2024 Summer Olympics. They were Petr Asayonak in the men's -89 kg group, Yauheni Tsikhantsou in the men's 102 kg group, Eduard Ziaziulin in the men's +102 kg group, and Siuzanna Valodzka in the women's 71 kg group. They earned their spots by ranking among the top ten in their weight classes on the IWF Olympic Qualification Rankings.

Athlete	From	Event	Snatch	Clean & Jerk	Total	Rank
Yauheni Tsikhantsou	Belarus	Men's −102 kg	183	219	402
Siuzanna Valodzka	Belarus	Women's −71 kg	111	135	246	4

Wrestling

Main articles: Wrestling at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Wrestling at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

On July 6, 2024, the Russian Wrestling Federation announced that all its invited wrestlers chose not to participate in the Olympics. This was because the International Olympic Committee had not allowed some of Russia's best wrestlers to compete.

Freestyle

Greco-Roman

Athlete	From	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Final / BM
Athlete	From	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov	Belarus	Men's −74 kg	Zhamalov (UZB) L 0–8^VPO	Did not advance			Salkazanov (SVK) W 6–6^VPO1	Valiev (ALB) L 2–12^VSU1	Did not advance

Athlete	From	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Repechage	Final / BM
Athlete	From	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Abubakar Khaslakhanau	Belarus	Men's −97 kg	Kobliashvili (GEO) W 9–1^VSU1	Gabr (EGY) L 1–4^VPO1	Did not advance