Russian national weightlifting team applied to participate in European Championship in case of IOC admission – FTA chief

The Russian national weightlifting team has applied to participate in the European Championships, in order not to lose this opportunity in the event of a positive decision on the admission of athletes, said the president of the Russian Weightlifting Federation (FTAR ) Maxim Agapitov at .

The European Championship will take place in Yerevan from April 15 to 23.

“It’s a common procedure. If we had not submitted applications now, and they are submitted in advance, and then later, in the event of a positive admission decision, there would not have been such an opportunity.

As a member of the executive committee, I attended the last meeting. The European Federation (EWF) advocates that Russian athletes participate in European competitions, provided that the IOC makes such a decision. In anticipation of this, it has been decided to include us in the preliminary application, and then there will be an admissions decision. The EWF fully supports the participation of our athletes,” Agapitov told .

– That is, the application is a preventive measure?

– Yes.

– If you are not allowed to participate in the European Championship, how critical will this be in terms of eventual qualification for the Paris Olympics?

– Not yet critical.

In February 2022, the IOC recommended that federations prevent Russians from participating in international competitions. In January, the IOC announced that it would consider admitting neutral Russian and Belarusian athletes who did not actively support the CBO to world starts.