The Russian Olympic Committee (COR) on Monday rejected calls for a possible boycott of the Paris 2024 Games. after re-admitting the Russian team to international competitions except for athletes who showed favor in the military campaign in Ukraine.
“All those who are calling us today to boycott the Olympics, regardless of their arguments, should know that such rudeness directly leads to the isolation of Russian sport for at least two Olympic cycles,” said Stanislav Pozdniakov , president of COR, on his Telegram channel.
Pozdniakov emphasized that this means “for eight years there will be no Russian flag or anthem at all international competitions.”
“That is exactly what our opponents are looking for with all their might. At the same time, there are no cases in history where a boycott has had a positive effect on the development of sport in any country,” he said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced last week its decision to readmit Russian athletes to international competitions if they “did not actively support the war in Ukraine.”
Then, the COR assured: “We continue to be absolutely against any limitation, additional request or penalty related to the citizenship of our athletes.”
In addition, Pozdniakov announced that Moscow will conduct a legal review of the IOC’s theses, after which it will build bridges with international federations.
Meanwhile, Russian sports legends who have won Olympic gold medals have spoken out against accepting those terms.
“If any Russian demonstrates against the special operation, against the defense of their homeland, they will become traitors. Let them do it, but only after they leave Russia, their homeland,” warned Alexandr Tijonov, four-time Olympic biathlon champion (Grenoble 68, Sapporo 72, Innsbruck 76 and Lake Placid 80).
The ice skater Irina Rodnina, triple Olympic champion in pairs (1972, 76 and 80) and pro-government deputy, he didn’t hide his anger either.
“This is a provocation that we will not accept. I understand, it hurts. Athletes suffer, because the life of an athlete is short, but now this is not the case when we can make concessions, because there will be division in society and in athletes,” he said.
In the same vein, the Olympic champion in ice speed skating Svetlana Zhurova He did not succeed in explaining the selection criteria for Russian athletes to take part in the qualification tests for the Paris 2024 Games.
“What do they want? For any of the boys training in Russia to turn their backs on special military operations and not support it? It’s something I can’t imagine,” he said.
While the Kremlin gave approval to the IOC’s decision, the newspaper speculated which athletes would be excluded from public appearances in favor of “special military operations.”
Source: La Verdad
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