Belarus athletes Ivan Litvinovich and Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya registered first-ever individual neutral athletes medals at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Friday. Litvinovich successfully defended his gold in the men's trampoline gymnastic event while Bardzilouskaya claimed silver in the women's category.
Both Litvinovich and Bardzilouskaya made it to the podium but had to listen to an anthem commissioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). A few athletes (17 from Belarus and 15 from Russia) are competing in the 33rd Summer Games under the Individual Neutral Athletes (INA) flag due to a ban on Russia and Belarus' Olympic Federations.
The IOA invited athletes who did not support Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but very few accepted an invitation to play under a neutral flag in Paris Games 2024. Medals won by athletes under a neutral flag get counted as an INA medal and do not reflect in the medal's tally.
Litvinovich finished at the top with a perfect score of 63.090, 1.2 points ahead of the second place to claim a historic gold. After his event, he expressed his desire to win a medal under his nation's flag but did not comment anything on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“I was quite anxious and nervous,” Litvinovich told official broadcasters. “My coach helped me a lot. I was also listening to music before my routines. I felt I was fully prepared to show my best today. At the next Games, I would like to compete with my flag and with my national anthem and I’d like to represent my country in the best possible way."
Meanwhile, athletes from 58 different countries countries have won medals at the end of Day 8's (August 2) sporting events at the Paris Olympics. The People's Republic of China is leading the medal tally with 16 golds (total of 37) followed by the United States of America (14 golds, total of 61), France (12 golds), Australia (12 golds) and Great Britain (10).
