MOSCOW, April 5, Sergey Fuks. Russian athletes who will perform at the Summer Olympics in Paris without national symbols, they are people without a country, they should not have Russian citizenship, said the President of the All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics (VFKhG) Irina Viner.
The President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Stanislav Pozdnyakov, said on Friday that he supports Wiener’s position on the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympics in Paris, but does not agree with her definition of a “team of homeless people,” and in relation to tennis players who have expressed a desire to compete at the Games, according to him According to him, it would be more correct to use the wording “team of foreign agents.”
“Perhaps “homeless people” sounds like an explosive for tennis, maybe “a team of refugees” sounds incorrect, but that’s correct, these are people who do not live in Russia. On the other hand, these people have been paying for their training themselves, they have been individual athletes since childhood. We don’t say “neutral,” we say “individual.” And now there is a conversation that they should compete without a state at all, that they are neutral athletes who have no country. If If there are no attributes, then there is no country, if there is no country, then these are people who should not have Russian citizenship. If they should not have Russian citizenship, then they are truly neutral and this is where everything comes into conflict. I would not call them foreign agents, they are not foreign agents, but they are passive people who ultimately become supporters of the measures that the IOC applies,” Wiener said.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has allowed players from Russia and Belarus to participate in the Olympics in a neutral status. The ranking of tennis players who made it to the Olympics will be determined the day after Roland Garros – June 10.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russians to participate in the Games, which will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11, in individual neutral status, subject to a number of criteria. A special flag and anthem have been approved for neutral athletes. Russians will not be allowed to participate in the parade of athletes at the opening ceremony, and their awards will not be displayed in the medal table. Due to restrictions on participation in qualifying competitions, a maximum of 55 Russian athletes will be able to qualify for the Games. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that “international officials are distorting the meaning of the Olympic movement and undermining the foundations of international sports.”
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