Nordic sports bodies urge IOC to ban Russian athletes

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The five Olympic committees in the Nordic region have urged the International Olympic Committee to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from “international sports participation” because of the war in Ukraine. The bodies from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway say they wanted to expressed their “steadfast support once again with the Ukrainian people and the demand for peace.” The three Baltic prime ministers called for a ban last week and said that an Olympic boycott was a possibility. The Latvian Olympic Committee has threatened to boycott the Paris Games if Russian athletes are allowed.