Dopad mezinárodních sankcí na účast ruských sportovců na Olympijských hrách 2024

This bachelor's thesis examines the impact of international sports sanctions on the participation of Russian athletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The thesis deals with how the sanctions imposed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shaped the conditions for the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, who could compete exclusively as individual neutral athletes without state symbols, anthems and flags and only in individual disciplines. The theoretical framework of the thesis is based on the conceptualization of international sports sanctions and their typologies, while being set in the broader context of sports diplomacy and the politicization of sports. Methodologically, the thesis is based on a qualitative case study and a comparative analysis of media statements of two selected Russian athletes. Specifically, tennis player Daniil Medvedev, who accepted the IOC conditions, and swimmer Yevgeny Rylov, who rejected them. The results of the analysis show that the athletes' decision-making was not only individual, but was determined by a combination of political pressure, value orientations and dependence on sports federations. The thesis further documents the long-term consequences of sanctions on Russian sport, including a mass change in sports nationality and a weakening of international competitiveness. The thesis concludes that sports sanctions have become an instrument of geopolitical conflict and sport has ceased to be perceived as an apolitical space.