Family was in the shelter
Ukrainian fencer defends the handshake scandal
08/17/2023 2:21 p.m
The Fencing World Championships are long over, but one scene is still being discussed: Olha Charlan’s refusal to shake hands. The Ukrainian is initially disqualified because she does not shake hands with her Russian competitor after the fight. She now explains her motives.
A good three weeks after her controversial disqualification at the Fencing World Championships, the Ukrainian Olha Charlan once again explained her reasons for refusing to shake hands with the Russian Anna Smirnova. “I phoned my family the day before the fight. They were in the shelter and I was supposed to fight a Russian the next day. How should I shake her hand?” the 32-year-old Ukrainian told ARD.
You can’t force them to shake hands, “I don’t want that,” she said. Charlan’s hometown of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine has repeatedly been the target of Russian attacks. Like other Russians, Smirnova was allowed to compete under a neutral flag.
After beating the Russian at the Fencing World Championships in Milan, team Olympic champion Charlan was disqualified. The world fencing association FIE lifted her disqualification a little later, so that she was allowed to start in the team competition.
In addition, the controversial handshake rule was lifted. It will be replaced by a gun salute in the future. The disqualification of the four-time team world champion caused international outrage in view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
IOC boss Thomas Bach had promised Charlan an Olympic place after the scandal. “In view of your particular situation, the International Olympic Committee will allocate you an additional quota place for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 if you cannot qualify in the meantime,” wrote Bach in a personal letter to the saber fencer.