The government of Ukraine has declared that none of its athletes would take part in any Olympic qualifying competitions in Paris in 2024 where Russian athletes will be taking part.
Follow Us
The government of Ukraine has declared that none of its athletes would take part in any Olympic qualifying competitions in Paris in 2024 where Russian athletes will be taking part. The choice was made after the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) declared that individual Russian and Belarussian athletes would be permitted to compete in international sports provided they are not connected to the military or promote the invasion of Ukraine. According to Nemchinov, Ukraine will only compete in Olympic qualifying events in which there are no Russian competitors. The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine member and secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Oleg Nemchinov, made the declaration and threatened to take action against National Federations that disregarded the decision.
“Accordingly, participation outside these criteria may be grounds for depriving Federations of their national status,” he added. He admitted that the decision may mean that some Ukrainian athletes would miss their opportunity to compete at the Olympics, but said it was a price they must pay. “But your life and that of your children will remain,” Nemchinov said. After the president of NOCU, Vadym Gutzeit suggested that Ukraine boycott competitions including Russian athletes, the decision was adopted. According to Gutzeit, the choice was taken in response to the continuing war between Russia and Ukraine. “We cannot allow Ukrainian athletes to compete alongside athletes from the country that is waging a war against us,” he said.
Read More-Ukraine opposes the reintegration of Russia and Belarus into world sports
In light of the current crisis, Nemchinov emphasised the sacrifices made by Ukrainian athletes and citizens. He stated, “Yesterday I attended another funeral of a good friend of mine who devoted more than 20 years to athletics and died in the Kharkiv direction.” “He voluntarily went to the war. And he did not serve in the kitchen, so to speak. That is, he was in combat units.” The decision by Ukraine’s Government has the potential to impact not only the country’s athletes but also the Olympics as a whole. However, Ukraine’s stance is reflective of the ongoing conflict between the two countries, and it remains to be seen how the IOC will respond.
Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC, stated his hope that Ukraine wouldn’t boycott events because of its choice regarding Russia and Belarus, including Paris 2024. Bach cited previous examples of athletes from countries that have been in conflict participating in the Olympic Games. Bach said, “Given this experience, we hope that in the case of Russian participation, the decision because it has not yet been accepted – the Olympic spirit and its mission will prevail, as it has already happened in the past in many other cases.”
Read More-Twitter mourns as Ukraine’s youth Olympic medalist Maksym Galinichev dies in Ukraine’s war
