Olympic diving champion Ilya Zakharov in an interview with , he expressed the opinion that Russian athletes would miss not only the upcoming Summer Games in Paris, but also the 2028 Olympics in the United States.
At the end of March this year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced recommendations for the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions. Recommendations include individual admission, neutral status, banning participation in team sports, and banning participation of athletes associated with security forces or who have expressed support for the SVO. Some federations have followed the recommendations and allow athletes in a neutral status. In many sports, Russians and Belarusians remain under sanctions.
— At the sessions of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), it is openly said that our delegations are unlikely to go to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. And a full-fledged Russian team will probably participate in the Olympics no earlier than Los Angeles 2028. Do you agree?
– All is correct. Minus Paris 2024 and Milan 2026. We are now closed to all competitions. We must accept this as fact. My personal opinion is that there is no need to beat around the bush when discussing vague prospects for the coming years. Accept the truth, no matter how bitter it may be. We probably won’t come back to Los Angeles 2028, as I think we will.
This means that we must get involved in the development of all sports in the country. This is what is done in diving. For example, we launched new competitions called the “Young Champions League”.
— Does that mean they won’t bring us back in 2028?
– I think so. As sad as that sounds. But when we one day return to the world stage, we will only become stronger. And we must prepare for it. There is no need to pay attention to what is happening behind the hill. And there’s no need to rush into it. Russia is one of the strongest sporting powers in the world. Everyone knows this very well. We must now focus on what is happening in our country. And wonderful things are happening here: for example, the birth rate is increasing,” Zakharov told .
The Olympic Games in Paris will take place in July-August 2024 and in Los Angeles in July 2028.
Source : MatchTV
I’m John White and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. My specialty is covering sports news, which I’ve been doing for over 6 years now. During this time, I have worked as an author with Athletistic, a popular online news website focusing on sports topics.
