Russia, embroiled in a long-running dispute with the world's major sporting institutions, has just appointed three former athletes banned for doping, Yelena Lashmanova, Sergei Kirdyapkin and Olga Kanishkina, as coaches of the national team.

In an interview with BBC Ukraine, Ukraine's Minister of Youth and Sport, Matviy Bidnyi, said that the country may not take part in the Games if Russian athletes are allowed to compete in Paris, and announced that Ukraine would await the IOC's decision on the "arguments and appeals".

The Russian swimmer insists: "The dream of winning a medal is still alive" and he is not sad about missing the Olympic Games. He admits that under the circumstances his focus will be on 'new world records'.

At just 15 years of age, Russian skater Kamila Valieva became both a star and a source of controversy of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. In her first major international competition, the Tatar assumed responsibility in a big way. 

The International Federation of Equestrian Sports (FEI) has announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be competing in the equestrian disciplines at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Decathlon, which has over 1,700 stores worldwide and is an IOC partner for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, continued to sell clothing in Russia despite announcing its withdrawal from the country due to the Russia-Ukraine war, according to a media report published on Tuesday.

In a world where every sport is a separate entity when it comes to the treatment of Russian and Belarusian athletes, the WTA and ATP are among the few organisations that allow them to compete in virtually every tournament, albeit as neutrals, with no flag and no anthem in the event of victory.

For almost two years now, the 17-year-old figure skater Kamila Valieva has been undergoing an ordeal following her positive test at the end of December 2021, which came to light two months later during the Beijing Winter Olympics, where she played a crucial role in Russia's team gold medal win.

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved on Tuesday (118 votes in favor and none against) the call for an Olympic truce for the Paris 2024 Games, but Russia and Syria abstained in protest over Russia's recent exclusion from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Banned from many sports but present as neutrals in others, such as tennis, Russian and Belarusian athletes are a step closer to returning to equestrian sport following a decision announced by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

On March 1, 2022, the International Ski Federation (FIS) decided, with immediate effect and in the middle of the season, that no Russian or Belarusian skier would be allowed to compete at any level until the end of the 2021-2022 season due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is concerned over the 2024 Friendship Games taking place in Russia, WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said during the Foundation Board meeting. "Russia has the intention of potentially organizing a multi-sports event in 2024 that is called the Friendship Games", Niggli said. "This seems to be completely organized outside the framework of sport, to the extent that even the chairman or the president of the organizing committee would be the president of a federation that just lost its recognition from the sports movement".

The IOC has recommended National Olympic Committees to refrain from participating in the Friendship Games in Moscow. "The goal of the Friendship Games was never to conflict with the IOC or create a competition against the Olympic movement. The Friendship Games were conceived as a harmonious addition to the existing international calendar, and this is particularly important for Russian athletes," stated the Organizing Committee.

The World Friendship Games are scheduled to take place in Moscow and Yekaterinburg from September 15 to September 29, 2024, featuring competitions in 27 sports, including basketball, boxing, athletics, swimming, gymnastics, beach soccer, sports programming, and even acrobatic rock and roll.