Andreeva and Shnaider, part of AIN, are the first Russians to get a medal at the 2024 Olympics

PARIS (AP) — The first medal for any Russian athlete at the 2024 Olympics — technically not representing their country, but competing as neutrals, because of the war on Ukraine — came in tennis on Sunday, when Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider got a women’s doubles silver.

Andreeva and Shnaider lost the final to Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini of Italy 2-6, 6-1, 10-7 in a match tiebreaker.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus are competing at the Paris Games as Individual Neutral Athletes, known by the French acronym AIN. Those nations were banned by the International Olympic Committee from team sports at the Paris Games because of the attack on Ukraine that began in February 2022.

Individual athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports were allowed to compete as neutrals if they qualified and then were approved for entry to the Olympics.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games