Russia is participating under its national flag at an Olympic event for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Thirteen athletes are representing the country at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, which opened on 31 October in Senegal, under conditions allowing the use of national symbols, including the anthem in the event of victory. Their return makes the competition a visible demonstration of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) change in approach.
The Russian delegation is represented in nine sports: swimming, gymnastics, cycling, taekwondo, judo, fencing, equestrian sport, wushu and skateboarding. Their participation contrasts with the conditions applied to Russian athletes admitted to Paris 2024 and Milano Cortina 2026, where they competed as Individual Neutral Athletes. In Dakar, the restoration of national identity brings to the Olympic stage an opening that had progressed through recommendations and decisions by individual international federations. The extent of that change, however, continues to depend on the competition and the rules applicable to each sport.
From neutral participation to the return of national symbols
The Olympic Movement’s response to Russia’s invasion shifted from recommending the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes to allowing the return of individuals who met specific neutrality and eligibility requirements. In December 2025, the Olympic Summit supported allowing young athletes from both countries to enter international competitions, in individual and team sports, without restrictions based on nationality. It also endorsed applying the usual protocols on flags, anthems and uniforms, provided the relevant national sports organisation met the required conditions. The principle expressed by the IOC was that athletes, particularly young athletes, should not be held accountable for their governments’ actions.
That process took another significant step on 7 July 2026, when the Executive Board provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and ended its previous recommendations to federations concerning Russian participation. Implementation has not been uniform: while various governing bodies have changed their conditions, World Athletics has maintained its exclusion, including in youth categories. The absence of Russian athletes from Dakar’s athletics events has prompted protests from their national federation. The presence of a delegation under its national flag therefore does not amount to automatic readmission across all sports.
Africa’s Olympic debut also exposes divisions
The return coincides with a historic occasion: Dakar 2026 is the first Olympic sporting event held in Africa. For Kirsty Coventry, the first woman and first African to lead the IOC, the occasion carries significance beyond organising a Youth Olympic Games. In her opening address, the president placed African identity, pride in one’s roots and young athletes’ self-belief at the heart of her message. Russia’s presence adds an institutional dimension to that celebration: the opening advocated by the IOC is now being implemented before delegations, broadcasters and audiences at an Olympic event.
Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR has expressed its opposition by declining to broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies live. Its head of sport, Rivo Saarna, explained that the broadcaster had received confirmation that Russians and Belarusians could participate under their flags and argued that the decision normalised Russia’s international standing while its war against Ukraine continues. The disagreement also centres on symbols, rather than solely on young athletes’ right to compete: for the IOC, protecting athletes from their governments’ decisions underpins the opening; for ERR, displaying national flags is incompatible with Olympic values in the current context.
Dakar and ice hockey stem from different decisions
The timing of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling on ice hockey draws further attention to Russia’s return, although the two processes must be distinguished. On 30 October, the court overturned decisions by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) excluding Russian national teams from competitions in the 2026–2027 season, finding insufficient evidence to justify the restrictions on security grounds. The ruling did not determine whether those teams should compete with national symbols or under neutral conditions. Dakar reflects Olympic and youth participation policy; ice hockey involves the legal review of specific federation decisions.
Participation in Senegal does not, in itself, determine all the conditions that will apply at Los Angeles 2028 or Brisbane 2032. The provisional opening agreed in July constitutes a separate precedent from the permission applied to young athletes in Dakar, while federations’ eligibility requirements and qualification systems remain relevant. Differences between sports already have concrete consequences for participants: thirteen Russians have been able to join the youth delegation, while their compatriots in athletics remain excluded. The Russian federation has taken its challenge to World Athletics’ restrictions, including those affecting youth categories, to CAS.
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