Former WBC cruiserweight champion Grigori Drozd in a conversation with , he called the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recommendations regarding Russian and Belarusian athletes destructive.
Following Tuesday’s meeting in Lausanne, the IOC’s executive committee recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to participate in international competitions only in a neutral status, while banning Russians from participating in team sports. Recommendations were also issued to take into account, in the question of admission to competitions, the public statements of the Russians about the SVO, their demonstration of symbols with the letter “Z”.
– The other day I saw a story with a speech by Bach, who said he was strongly opposed to the IOC becoming a political tool. According to him, otherwise the Olympic movement will discredit itself. Absolute things are written in the Olympic Charter – development, unification, friendship, whatever happens. But these recommendations are completely different things. It is very sad to read these recommendations and theses. And for me, what Bach was talking about a few days ago is not clear. Apparently Bach is aware of his failure as a leader of the Olympic movement, but he cannot face it. At first he succumbed to this, and now he understands that it is used for political purposes, not related to sports and friendship, but for personal purposes, far from sports reasons. It’s very sad.
We have already overcome several obstacles. Remember those doping slanders, we faced that and showed that we will grow. And these contradictions with Russians and Belarusians will not lead to good. They will certainly not be able to stop our countries in terms of sports development, and we will certainly be able to find a way out of the situation – we will compete on the international stage, but not with Europe and America, but with other stronger athletes. And these theses and recommendations lead to the destructiveness and collapse of the entire sports industry in the world. It’s the road to nowhere. We need to think about dialogue, about the return of Russians and Belarusians to international competitions, about holding joint competitions, about full participation with a flag and an anthem. This is what you need to think about, not what you are told from above. I’m talking about the IOC. All this is sad, it will not lead to good. Thomas Bach cannot find the strength to raise the issue firmly as the leader of the entire Olympic movement, Drozd told .
In February last year, the IOC Executive Board recommended federations not to invite Russians and Belarusians to compete due to the situation in Ukraine. In many sports, athletes from both countries were suspended from starts, some federations allowed them to be neutral without national symbols.
Subsequently, Bach opposed political influence on sport and any suggestion that Russian athletes would be treated as bearers of collective guilt.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
