Four-time Olympic swimming champion, IOC honorary member Alexander Popov, in an interview with , supported Russian athletes who decided not to qualify for the 2024 Games in neutral status.
The Olympic Games in the French capital will take place from July 26 to August 11. Only Evgeny Somov, who will participate in the Games as a neutral, will compete in swimming in Paris from Russia.
— Do you have any human sympathy for the guys who refused the Olympics and did not go there in neutral status? This is their golden age.
– You know, I really feel sorry for the guys. Because this is how life has turned out, this is the situation. And we can’t do anything about it. And their position that they did not adopt neutral status, did not go to Paris and are not convinced is worthy of respect, “Popov told .
In February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that sports federations not allow Russians and Belarusians to participate in international tournaments. Later, the recommendations were softened, and in December 2023, IOC chief Thomas Bach said that the organization would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes who had passed the selection process to the 2024 Summer Games in an individual neutral status. The athletes will be able to perform in Paris without a flag, anthem, and other national symbols.
More sports news in our telegram channel .
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.
