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XXXIII Summer Olympic Games in Paris, European Football Championship in Germany, high-profile fights for the title absolute world boxing champion, as well as the Friendship Games in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, talks about the ten most anticipated sporting events of the coming year.
Summer Olympic Games in Paris
Russian athletes will formally be able to go to the 2024 Olympics, which will be held from July 26 to August 11 in Paris. However, if fans look at the conditions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) put forward in relation to Russian and Belarusian athletes, they will understand: only a few will make it to France. Indeed, to obtain neutral status, athletes and their personnel must refrain from any activity related to the national flag, anthem, emblem or any other symbol of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, national federations or Olympic committees, and also not support the CBO at any official event or in Media before, during and after the Olympic Games.
In addition, the IOC Executive Committee pointed out the lack of communication with the military country structures as another admission criterion.
President Russian Federation Vladimir Putin previously stated that Russian athletes should be given a chance to compete at the Olympic Games, despite their neutral status. At the same time, the head of state noted that if there is an infringement of the rights of athletes from the sports societies CSKA and Dynamo, then the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) must make a “balanced decision.”
ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov also spoke about the situation with a neutral status: according to him, the organization will not provide financial support to those who will go to the Games.
European Football Championship
The Russian national team will definitely not be at Euro 2024. Since February 2022, the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) have not allowed Russian national teams and clubs to participate in international competitions — the tournament in Germany will not be an exception.
As for the final part of the tournament, 21 teams have already made it to the European Championship: the teams of Germany, Hungary, Switzerland and Scotland (group A), Spain, Croatia, Italy and Albania (B), Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia and England (C), The Netherlands, Austria and France (D), Belgium, Slovakia and Romania (E), Turkey, Portugal and the Czech Republic (F). The teams from Wales, Finland, Poland and Estonia (path A), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Israel and Iceland (path B), Georgia, Luxembourg, Greece and Kazakhstan (path C) will compete for the remaining three spots.
The tournament will take place from June 14 to July 14 in ten German cities. The opening match of Euro 2024 in Munich will see the national teams of Germany and Scotland play, with Berlin hosting the final match.
Verdict in the Valieva case
Despite the fact that almost two years have passed since the team figure skating tournament at the 2022 Olympics, the Russians who became the winners, like the Americans (silver medalists) and the Japanese (bronze medalists), have not yet received awards. It's all because of the doping scandal surrounding Kamila Valieva's positive test, without a final investigation of which the International Skating Union (ISU) cannot approve the result of the team tournament in Beijing.
Valieva's case is currently before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, which plans to announce its decision by February 12.
WADA vs RUSADA
In November, CAS registered a claim from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regarding the non-compliance of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), which, after a series of doping scandals surrounding domestic sports, has remained deprived of full status in the organization for more than four years. For this reason, Russians are prohibited from competing under the national flag at major international tournaments, including the Olympic Games and World Championships.
CAS will issue a final and binding verdict no earlier than the summer (the consideration of the case can take from six to 12 months). However, the parties will have the right to appeal to the Swiss Federal Court on limited grounds within 30 days.
Alternatives to the “unfriendly” Olympics
Despite the ban from world sports, Russian athletes will have many big starts in 2024:
- Games of the future(February 21 — March 3) — new international competitions in 16 hybrid disciplines with the concept of phygital (physical + digital). This will be a combination of classic sports with e-sports or VR/AR technology. Kazan will be the host of the first Games of the future;
- BRICS Games (June 12-23) — a major sports forum with three thousand participants, medal drawings in 27 sports and a prize fund in the amount of 630 million rubles. Kazan was chosen as the host city, where the BRICS summit will be held in October;
- Friendship Games (September 15-29) — competitions held by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The games, which included 33 sports, will be hosted by Moscow and Yekaterinburg. The prize fund should be 4.6 billion rubles.
Chasing Krasnodar in the RPL
Football club «Krasnodar» is closer than ever to its first victory in the Russian championship. In November, the Bulls finished the first round of the Russian Premier League (RPL) in first place and maintained a lead over their pursuers before the winter break. Now the team of Serbian coach Vladimir Ivic has 38 points after 18 matches.
However, there are still 12 rounds ahead. And the winner of the last five national championships, Zenit from St. Petersburg (36 points), as well as Moscow Dynamo (32), Lokomotiv (31) and Spartak (30) will do everything to prevent the Krasnodar fairy tale
Boxing fights Usik – Fury and Beterbiev – Bivol
The year that has begun can become one of the most significant in boxing history. After all, fans can see two confrontations for the title of absolute world champions at once, in which four undefeated belt holders according to versions of different organizations will take part.
Already on February 17, the heavyweight champion of the World Boxing Association (WBA), the International Boxing Federation (IBF), the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the International Boxing Organization (IBO), Ukrainian Alexander Usik, will share the ring with Briton Tyson Fury, who owns the World Boxing Championship belt. council (WBC). The fight will be hosted by Saudi Arabia, which is becoming the center of world boxing.
The long-awaited meeting of two Russians may take place there, in the Middle East. WBA (Super) and IBO light heavyweight world champion Dmitry Bivol is already awaiting a fight with compatriot Artur Beterbiev, who will defend his WBC, WBO and IBF belts in a fight against Callum Smith on January 13. In the event of the British defeat, only financial troubles will be able to disrupt the confrontation between the Russians.
Makhachev's double championship
For the holder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight title Islam Makhachev, 2023 was the best year in his career. The Russian not only defended his title twice (the successor to Khabib Nurmagomedov won by decision and knocked out Australian Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch), but also became the best fighter of the promotion regardless of weight categories (P4P).
Makhachev’s next goal is double champion status. But before moving up to the welterweight division for another title, the Russian will have to make a couple of defenses. Brazilian Charles Oliveira and American Justin Gaethje are next in line — victories over both contenders will leave the UFC management no choice. At the end of 2024, the champion will be able to get a fight for the belt, which is currently held by Briton Leon Edwards.
Malkin’s five hundred goals in the NHL
Russian Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin has 486 career goals in the National Hockey League (NHL). Already this season, he could reach the 500-goal mark — if this happens, the three-time Stanley Cup winner will become the second Russian player in history to score so many goals in the NHL, and only the fourth active hockey player in the league in the “500 club.”
Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin will also continue his race for the best sniper in NHL history — Wayne Gretzky. The Russian brought his total number of goals to 830, while the Canadian record holder scored 894 goals.
Nadal's farewell
According to the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, this year will be the last in his career. The famous athlete is already 37 years old, he spent almost the entire 2023 recovering from an injury (due to muscle pain, the Spaniard will miss the Australian Open 2024). Nadal has conquered all possible peaks, the status of one of the greatest tennis players in history has been achieved — the 22-time winner of Grand Slam tournaments, the Roland Garros record holder (14 victories) simply has nothing to prove.
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