Russian athletes will be able to go to the Olympic Games in Paris only after ensuring that there will be no provocations or attempts on the part of the IOC to incite athletes to take measures that would discredit the honor of the country, declared the double Olympic biathlon champion. Sergei Chepikov .
Former President of Russia Vladimir Poutine said that the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Olympic Committee should analyze the conditions for participation of Russian athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games and make an informed decision. According to him, the sanctions of the IOC and international federations against Russian sports are a “contradiction and a total perversion” of the ideas of Pierre de Coubertin.
“I have already said that the decision whether or not to go to the Olympics should be made by the political leaders of the country and by our Olympic Committee. Of course, athletes, as Vladimir Vladimirovich once said, must realize their potential. I support this. My personal opinion: our athletes are in many ways a reference and idols for our children who train in sports schools. Children need to see where they need to strive. But to go to the Games, we must ensure that there will be no outright provocations. As Putin says, you have to make a very informed decision. If there are provocative actions against our athletes or attempts to persuade them to take actions that discredit the country’s honor, then what can we do? There has been a lot of talk about the fact that to participate in the Games you have to sign papers against the SVO. It is an inclination to such actions. I can’t understand this. These are incomparable things,” Chepikov told .
On December 8, the IOC announced that it would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes who successfully qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics to have individual neutral status. In Paris, Russian and Belarusian athletes can only compete in neutral individual status (AIN), without flags, anthems and other national symbols. The IOC banned the participation of athletes associated with security forces or who had expressed support for the SVO.
The Paris Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
Source : MatchTV
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