On Friday evening, the President of the World Athletics ) Sebastian Coe announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be at the 2024 Olympics. The cynicism of the situation is that a few hours earlier the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided on the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the Paris Games in a neutral status. However, the British boss of the “queen of sports” remained adamant.
World Athletics is one of those federations that do not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international competitions in any way. Back in the spring of this year, some time after the release of IOC recommendations on the admission of Russians and Belarusians in a neutral status, Coe spoke in the spirit that they were recommendations for the last word to remain with the international federation. And the World Athletics board, having restored full membership of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) in March after a seven-year suspension due to doping scandals, left in place the complete ban of Russia and Belarus for political reasons.
In the summer, Coe announced the creation of a working group that was supposed to formulate the conditions under which the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes could be lifted. But with these words it all ended: no specifics came either from the head of World Athletics or from this very working group. But Coe repeated that “in the current conditions, this (removal) is the best solution.”
““And we will defend it if necessary,” he noted.
On Friday evening, after the announcement of the IOC decision on the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the Games in Paris, the briefing on the results of the meeting of the World Athletics Council was suddenly postponed — first for half an hour, and finally for an hour. There was hope — maybe Coe had softened after all? It even strengthened for a while after World Athletics issued a release confirming the approval of the composition of the above-mentioned working group.
But in the question and answer session at the briefing, everything became clear — all this is window dressing, and nothing has changed at all in the position of the President of World Athletics. That is, it has even become tougher: if earlier Coe said that Russian and Belarusian track and field athletes “are unlikely to make it to the Olympics,” now “they will not be in Paris.”
““Perhaps you will see some neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus at the Olympics in Paris, but not in athletics,» he said. “The position in our sport has not changed, it is stable, it was accepted by the executive committee, the council adheres to it. It is almost unanimously supported by the athletic family.»
In recent times, it seems that the President of World Athletics has only once been asked a direct question at a press conference — what generally needs to happen for the ban on Russia and Belarus in athletics to be lifted? In response, Coe answered absolutely straightforwardly:
““Russia must leave (here in the exact quote the word was a little harsher) from Ukraine.”
Generally speaking, the IOC might wonder to what extent the course of action adopted by a British official who is a member of this organization correlates with the values of the Olympic Charter, which does not allow political interference in sport and preaches its peaceful mission and the unification of athletes of all countries. But they don’t ask, and we understand perfectly why: Bach himself operates with these concepts only in words, but in reality his department puts pressure on Russian sports as best it can.
But on Friday, the IOC, although under conditions that deprived Russian and Belarusian athletes of dignity and connection with their homeland, still allowed them to participate in the Olympics in Paris. Yes, athletes who want to go to the Games will have to go through, as the President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov correctly noted, a humiliating “neutralization” procedure, but this will be their choice. Coe is depriving Russian and Belarusian track and field athletes of any choice, now out of principle. And this, of course, is a cynical slap at Bach.
However, this too can be explained. Coe is expected to run for IOC president. Although the Briton constantly avoids questions on this topic, it is in the air. And the tough position that the President of World Athletics took towards Russian and Belarusian athletes fits perfectly into it. As you know, in the West, just like here, many people accuse Bach of trying to sit on two chairs. You certainly can’t claim this from Coe – he pursues an absolutely clear and unambiguous policy. But if there is justice in this world, the boss of the “queen of sports” will still fail. Because his chair is rotten.
The author’s opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors
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