Salnikov: “Under the aegis of the IOC, there are many maneuvers to prevent the strongest Russian athletes from entering the Olympic Games”

In the criteria of the International Olympic Committee (CIO ) there are many loopholes to ultimately prevent the strongest Russian athletes from participating in the Paris Olympic Games, said the president of the All-Russian Swimming Federation (RSF). Vladimir Salnikov .

Earlier, the IOC announced a list of 14 Russian athletes who, as of June 15, had received neutral status to participate in the 2024 Olympics. In taekwondo, not a single athlete has received an invitation or admission at the Olympic Games, despite the presence of four quotas for neutral athletes with Russian passports. In wrestling, 10 Russians were granted neutral status to compete in the Olympics, while many Russian team leaders remained without access.

— How do you assess the IOC’s decision not to admit certain Russian taekwondo and wrestling athletes, previously qualified for the Paris Olympic Games?

“I believe that such a situation was foreseen from the beginning. When the IOC began to propose the first conditions for admission, many maneuvers took place under these conditions to ultimately prevent the strongest Russian athletes from participating in the Olympic Games. That is why, in September, after a long meeting of the ROC Athletes’ Commission, our athletes decided not to compete in such conditions, because the most important thing was violated: the sporting principle.

If you look at the situation deeper than the simple absence of state symbols, anthem and flag, then when you are deliberately placed in conditions in which the best athletes will definitely not be selected, then the comments are simply useless. What is happening now (with the admission of Russians to the Games in Paris) is predictable, ”reports a correspondent, reporting Salnikov’s words.

The Paris Summer Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11.

The IOC 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 or other national symbol. The IOC also banned the participation of athletes associated with security forces or who have expressed support for the SVO.

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