Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin in the framework of the session at the forum “Russia – a sporting power” said that at present it is necessary to preserve the integrity of the international Olympic movement.
— Kuzbass is a mining capital. But from what we see, the sports capital will soon move here. Because under one roof to fit 24 sports – there’s nothing like it anywhere. I want to thank the builders for the magnificent building – the Kuzbass Arena.
It has been difficult for us since 2014. We forget that all the time. The first sanctions hit the athletes. They’ve had it for eight years now. Now sanctions have been imposed on other industries. Now everyone understands how difficult it is. Athletes perform either with a flag or without a flag. Now the world is changing, there are a lot of polarities, but the main thing is that the sport remains united. If the Olympic movement collapses, we will transform into regional sports structures. The president said: “Whatever restrictions are imposed on athletes, we are open, we will not ban anyone from coming to Russia.”
We need to integrate more into the EAEU space. Our countries have a common past – the sport that was in the USSR. A real sport is one where a person achieves success with incredible effort. The president proposed to create a national sports association. This is important, the athlete must constantly be in a sports fight. Sport should be out of politics. If it happens that we are divided, it means that the Olympic Charter does not work. We must stick together,” Levitin said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recommended that international sports federations keep Russians out of competition under their auspices until further notice due to the situation in Ukraine.
Source : MatchTV
