Ukraine pushes for continued Russian Olympic exclusion -
Vadym Guttsait, who is Ukraine’s sports minister and leads the national Olympic committee, was sharply critical of the IOC’s push to reintegrate Russia and its ally Belarus into world sports. Any return, Guttsait said, would highlight the inequality caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
IOC president Thomas Bach said Wednesday that it would resist political influence in sports and indicated that next week’s meeting could discuss issues including Russian athletes’ military links. The IOC has said it would seek to bar athletes who have “actively supported” the war but hasn’t said how exactly that process would work. Ukraine is especially concerned about the many Russian athletes who are serving members of the armed forces or who represent military-run sports clubs.
“We want to participate in the Olympic Games, but without Russians and Belarusians,” he said. “Regarding whether we will participate or not, it will be, you know, not going to the Olympic Games that will be considered as a last resort by all our federations and all our athletes. But, of course, we will definitely need to hear the opinion of each of our athletes and each of our federations and make this decision together.
The IOC is leaving final decisions on whether to readmit Russians and Belarusians to the federations which govern individual sports. Despite calls from Bach for a unified approach, there is a growing split.
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