Zelenskyy Vows Campaign to Prevent Russia from Competing in Olympics
12:26 JST, January 28, 2023
BERLIN (Reuters) — Ukraine will launch an international campaign to prevent Russian athletes from being allowed to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday.
Sports Minister Vadim Guttsait earlier said Ukraine would not rule out boycotting the Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes took part. They have been banned in some sports while they are allowed to compete under a neutral flag in others.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), eager to see them back in major competitions, said on Wednesday the Olympic Council of Asia had offered Russian and Belarusian athletes the chance to compete in Asia, giving them a qualification pathway for the Paris Olympics.
Today we will a start a marathon for fair play aimed at clearing the management of international Olympic structures of hypocrisy as well as (preventing) any attempts to drag representatives of the terrorist state into world sport, Zelenskyy said in a video address.
It is obvious that any neutral flag of Russian athletes would be stained with blood … Olympic principles and war are fundamentally opposed to each other.
In a tweet following his speech, Zelenskyy called on IOC President Thomas Bach to visit the war-torn city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which has been the stage of intense fighting.
I invite Mr. Bach to Bakhmut. So that he could see with his own eyes that neutrality does not exist, Zelenskyy wrote.
Last month Zelenskyy told Bach he opposed the idea of Russian athletes taking part under any kind of neutral banner in the 2024 Summer Games.
The IOC is eager to include Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday that any attempt to squeeze Moscow out of international sport was “doomed to fail”.
Guttsait, writing on Facebook, said if Ukraine failed to ensure the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes, “I do not rule out the possibility that we will boycott and refuse participation in the Olympics.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many sports organizations have moved events and suspended Russian teams or athletes, while sponsors have ended contracts in protests against the war.
Russian strikes have claimed the lives of hundreds of Ukrainians who could have enriched world sport with their talent, said Zelenskyy.
"Sports" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Shohei Ohtani Defied Ex-Interpreter’s Request to Cover Up Fraud, Report
-
Shohei Ohtani Hits 176 MLB Homers; the Most by a Japanese-Born Player Surpassing Hideki Matsui
-
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 6 Shutout Innings Help Dodgers Finish Sweep, Defeat Nats 2-1
-
Japanese Public Divided Over Hosting Future Olympic Games As Corruption, Bid-Rigging Scandals Blunt Enthusiasm
-
Here’s How Investigators Allege Ippei Mizuhara Stole $16 million From Shohei Ohtani
JN ACCESS RANKING
- M6.0 Earthquake Hits Japan’s Tohoku Region; Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi Prefectures Observe 4 on Japanese Scale With No Risk of Tsunami
- China Mutes Memorialization of Reformer Hu Yaobang; Memories Could Spark Critique of Xi Administration
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers
- U.S. 7th Fleet officer Arrested on Suspicion of Stealing Sushi, Sashimi, Chicken at Kanagawa Shopping Mall; Suspect Caught Mid-Meal
- UNRWA Director Describes Catastrophic Destruction in Gaza; Says Relief Trucks Robbed, ‘People’s Hearts Destroyed’