Athletistic/ Others. The IOC leadership has decided on the final rules for the admission of Russian athletes to the 2024 Olympic Games. It became known earlier how many Russian athletes could participate in the Paris Olympics. It turned out that no more than 55 Russians would be allowed to participate in the Games.
Currently, 12 neutral athletes have qualified for the Olympics. 36 other athletes could also qualify. Moreover, at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, there were 330 Russian representatives.
Since Russian athletes will compete in neutral status, they will be excluded from the medal table. Medals won by neutral athletes will not appear in the medal table. Additionally, Russian athletes will not participate in the opening ceremony of the Games. Recall that a similar decision was previously made regarding Russian Paralympic athletes.
Honored coach of the USSR in figure skating Tatyana Tarasova reacted extremely negatively to the IOC rules. She considers this humiliation.
“It is a humiliation that must be endured. I don’t understand who will go to the Olympic Games in such conditions. I don’t understand why we should be punished and humiliated, is this the new occupation of the IOC? Humiliating people , countries, “Have you won medals in many Olympic Games? Everyone should be treated equally at the Olympic Games,” Tarasova said.
And the head of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation (VFHG) Irina Viner and even declared that the neutral anthem approved by the IOC was more akin to a funeral march.
“Having a neutral status without an anthem, without a flag, without supporters, without leadership, without press and without participation in the opening and closing parades is humiliating! And the anthem that will be played in honor of Russian athletes further reminds of “a funeral march,” underlined Wiener.
It is not surprising that due to such strict restrictions, some Russian athletes decided to change their nationality before the Paris Olympics. In particular, we are talking about swimmer Anastasia Kirpichnikova and wrestler Alexander Komarov.
Kirpichnikova is a European Championships medalist, a World Championships short course medalist and a European short course champion. International-class Russian Master of Sports. Russian record holder for 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle swimming in long and short waters. Now the 23-year-old swimmer will compete for France.
Additionally, the IOC approved the change of sports citizenship from Russian to Serbian for wrestler Alexander Komarov. Recall that Komarov, 24, is the winner of the 2024 European Championship.
There will surely be more than one news about a Russian athlete changing his sports citizenship. But some expressed their principled position. Earlier it became known that Russian boxers refused to go to the Paris Olympics in neutral status. Boxers can only compete under the Russian flag in tournaments of the International Boxing Association, headed by Russian official Umar Kremlev.
Remember that the Paris Olympic Games will be held from July 26 to August 11.
The State Duma of the Russian Federation sharply addressed the IOC: “They are making athletes hostages of the situation”
Andrey Andreev, Sport.Ru
Source: Sport
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