Russia has a complex 128-year history at the Olympic Games and it is about to enter a new era in Paris 2024, as the country's athletes will compete under a completely new title.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced it would allow athletes from Russia to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes (INA) following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 2022.
The same order was made for Belarus, which supported Russia in the invasion.
It means athletes from those countries will compete without any mention of their country, like how Russian and Belarusian tennis players are presented at ATP, WTA and grand slam events.
It is not the first time Russia has been disciplined by the IOC.
More than 100 of its athletes were banned from Rio 2016 after the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) independent commission found "systematic doping" had occurred, which had knock-on effects for subsequent Olympic Games.
So what is a neutral athlete?
An Individual Neutral Athlete is the name used to refer to athletes with either a Russian or Belarusian passport who will be competing at this year's Games in July and August.
These athletes are referred to by the abbreviation AIN, which comes from the French translation Athlètes Individuels Neutres.
These athletes will be permitted to compete if they meet eligibility requirements.
No reference to either country will be made at the Games through the athletes' participation, meaning the countries will not compete in team sports.
"The sanctions against those responsible for the war, the Russian and Belarusian states and governments, remain in place for the Olympic Games Paris 2024," the IOC said in a statement.
"No flag, anthem, colours or any other identifications whatsoever of Russia or Belarus will be displayed at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in any official venue or any official function," the statement continues.
Competition gear for the AINs has not yet been revealed, so it is unclear whether it will bear the turquoise colours of the brand-new flag of the AINs, or that they will don basic sportswear.
An anthem, without lyrics, has also been commissioned for use in medal ceremonies.
Though AINs are eligible to compete and win Olympic medals, they will not be displayed in the medal table of nations.
AINs will also be excluded from the parade of delegations at the Opening Ceremony on the basis that they are individual athletes rather than a team, though the IOC has said "an opportunity will be provided for them to experience the event".
'A workable solution'
Victoria University Professor Ramón Spaaij told 9news.com.au the decision to have neutral athletes was a compromise and a workable solution.
"You're not denying individual athletes who've been working towards peak performance at an event like this ... their right to participate," Spaaij said.
About 55 Russian athletes and 28 Belarusians are expected to compete at Paris 2024, according to the IOC.
"Those athletes will probably be very wary of making any political statements," Spaaij said.
He said the athletes from those countries might not support the invasion but it was also necessary to penalise the countries.
"You're robbing them of the opportunity to showcase the strength of their regime through their achievements on the sporting field," Spaaij said.
Teams have previously refused to play against Russian teams, like in the FIFA World Cup, which Spaaij said becomes "absolute chaos".
Russia being allowed to compete could also be hurtful to Ukrainian athletes.
He said the solution wasn't ideal but it seemed to be the best way to handle the situation.
Russia's success
Despite its political issues, Russia has proven to be a major competitor at the Games.
The country first competed as the Russian Empire in 1900, 1908 and 1912.
It didn't compete again until 1952 as the Soviet Union, then as the Unified Team in 1992 after the union break-up.
They competed as Russia from 1996 until these games.
As the Soviet Union they finished first five times and when competing as Russia, the nation finished in the top four at each Games until Rio 2016.
- Reported with CNN
