The eligibility criteria have been established by an Independent Panel set up by the UIPM in May and chaired by Egypt's three-time Olympian Aya Medany.

The Panel also included Guatemala’s UIPM Technical Committee member Ana Ruth Orellana and South Korea’s Sungjoo Park, the director of the Institute of Sport Ethics.

Nishanthe Piyasena, the Chef de Mission for Sri Lanka at the delayed 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou this year, and Harald Vervaecke, a UIPM Commission for Culture and Education member from Belgium, completed the Panel.

The criteria are also in line with the United Nations, with regards to the protection of individuals' rights, the UIPM claimed.

The application process is due to open on July 31 for those who wish to compete in UIPM events as neutral athletes.

No teams of athletes from Russia or Belarus will be allowed to compete, and the individual athlete applicants must satisfy the Independent Panel that they have never actively supported the war in Ukraine, do not serve the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies, and comply with anti-doping regulations.

Similar rules will apply to the eligibility criteria for support personnel, including coaches and trainers, medical staff and physiotherapists.

Federation of Modern Pentathlon of Russia President Vyacheslav Aminov has claimed he is confident that there remains enough time and opportunity for athletes to qualify for next year's Olympic Games in Paris.

Pentathletes from Russia and Belarus have been banned by the UIPM since March 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine the previous month. 

"I believe that we can perform at the Olympics in Paris," Aminov said. 

"If we are allowed even in 2024, then we will have time to qualify. 

"Both in terms of the rating and the World Cup."

Following the UIPM’s decision to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete, a group of Ukrainian pentathletes released a video featuring testimony from fellow athletes opposed to the decision.

The video featured athletes expressing their opposition to the move of the UIPM, which is chaired by Germany's Klaus Schormann. 

A group of six athletes underlined they do not agree with the UIPM's move, eight claimed they do not wish to compete against Russian and Belarusian competitors, and six called for their return to be delayed until the end of the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine's Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Pavlo Tymoshchenko was among those who featured in the video, which claimed, "this is not a good time for solidarity while Ukrainians are suffering from aggressors" and argued "athletes have human rights to mental health and protection of dignity".

It added "athletes have right to peaceful and friendly participation in competitions" and called on the UIPM to "protect Ukrainian athletes from discrimination".

Russia is the fifth most successful country in modern pentathlon at the Olympics, having won five medals, including four gold.

Russia won the gold medal in the men’s event at four out of five Games between 2000 and 2016.

Dmitry Svatkovsky won at Sydney 200, Andrey Moiseev at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 and Aleksander Lesun at Rio 2016. 

The highest-ranked Russian at Tokyo 2020 was Uliana Batashova, who finished ninth in the women's race. 

"It seems to me that patience is already running out in sports - in all countries they understand that the removal of Russia and Belarus gives them an uncompetitive advantage," Aminov said.

"If, for example, there is a World Championship, then the absence of Russian and Belarusian athletes calls into question its results, because they are the strongest in the world. 

"I think everyone understands this and wants fair sports."