“Manipulators have penetrated deep into the sports fraternity and cracks have appeared there” – Salnikov on the exclusion of Russians from international competitions

President of the All-Russian Swimming Federation Vladimir Salnikov on he compared the boycott of the 1980 and 1984 Olympics to the current exclusion of Russians from international competitions and the criteria allowing athletes to compete.

International Olympic Committee (CIO ) announced in December 2023 that it would allow Russian athletes who successfully qualified for the 2024 Olympics to have individual neutral status without a flag, anthem and other national symbols. The IOC also banned the participation of athletes associated with security forces or who have expressed support for the SVO.

“Neither in 1980, nor in 1984, nor during the Olympic Games which the Americans or we did not attend, no one thought about the humiliation of the athletes. The world of sport was more egalitarian, rivals respected each other. Whichever side of the Iron Curtain we took, we respected our adversaries, they respected us. Humiliation in the sense that the conditions were set so that there would be no flag, no anthem, no uniform, no affiliation with the country, no one could even imagine it. All this adds to the present bitterness.

The manipulators have dug deep into the unified sports fraternity and cracks have appeared in it. They separated. I believe it will return to normal, the Olympic values ​​have not been lost when it comes to the fundamental elements set out in the Olympic Charter, we need to understand that. It is likely that new people will come to understand all this and bring it back into the mainstream, developing mutual understanding and everything connected with it,” Salnikov told .

The Summer Olympics will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11.

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