Authorised Neutral Athletes

Quoting a breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government in which Belarus was complicit, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended suspending all teams, officials and competitors from Russia and Belarus from being involved in sport due to security concerns, while allowing individuals to compete in a neutral capacity.

[6][7] Around the same time, Russian track and field athlete Yuliya Stepanova requested to compete as a neutral instead of representing her country at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

The IAAF had already imposed an outright ban on track and field athletes competing but following an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport by Darya Klishina, a Russian Long Jumper based in the United States, the IAAF was forced to allow athletes who passed anti-doping test outside of Russia.

[17][18][19][20] Indeed, in the FIA World Rally Championship, Russians including Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov began competing under the Authorised Neutral Athlete flag immediately following the ruling.

In FIA Formula Three circuit racing, Russian driver Alexander Smolyar is included on entry lists as having an 'AND' license, meanwhile in the GT World Challenge Europe, Russian drivers appear on entry lists as having ND license and nationality on profiles and no flag is ever presented in either championship.

[24][25][26][27] In cycling, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) also permitted athletes to continue competing in a neutral capacity whilst banning all Russian and Belarusian teams, officials and events.

The UCI requested event organisers to replace the names, emblems and colours of the two countries with a "neutral reference or denomination".

[30][36][37] Kharlan said her choice of salute was meant as a sign of respect for her Russian opponent, while still acknowledging the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.