Fencing World Association clears the way
Ukraine reacts horrified at starting right for Russia
03/10/2023 9:58 p.m
Fencers from Russia and Belarus are allowed to participate in the qualification for the 2024 Olympics. In addition, teams and delegates from the two countries will also be allowed to take part in the competitions on the way to Paris. This decision is made by the International Fencing Federation.
The International Fencing Federation (FIE) has called for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be allowed to compete again. The decision, adopted by a good two-thirds majority at the Extraordinary Congress of the FIE, affects the individual and team competitions and will apply from April “subject to any recommendations or future decisions by the International Olympic Committee”.
The motion to allow Russian and Belarusian fencers to participate in individual competitions “subject to the conditions of neutrality and individual admission” was accepted with 89 votes to 46 and one abstention. According to a report by the industry service inside the games. Fencers from Russia and Belarus are therefore allowed to participate in the qualification for the 2024 Olympics.
“We are deeply shocked and outraged by this decision and will immediately convene a Presidium meeting to decide our response to the FIE’s decision and a possible appeal,” the Ukrainian federation said. The association had previously failed in two attempts to prevent the vote. The German association president Claudia Bokel, who took part in the vote, evaluated the result as a possible “sign (…) for further votes in the next few weeks in the sports world”.
German Fencing Association sees problems coming
The German Fechter-Bund (DFeB) now sees “further problems in the organization of international competitions in Germany”. They are now expecting “the inquiry from the International Fencing Federation as to whether Russian and Belarusian athletes can be guaranteed entry to Germany, as otherwise there would be a risk of international fencing highlights being withdrawn in Germany.”
The Presidium and the DFeB would now have to “talk to the responsible authorities and wait and see how other bodies decide in order to be able to answer these questions, such as entry options”. This also applies to “further decisions by the IOC” and how “athletes will decide in direct battles against Russian and Belarusian athletes”.
“Disappointed, frustrated and worried”
In response to the vote, the US association was “disappointed, frustrated and concerned – if not too surprised”. Phil Andrews, Managing Director of USA Fencing, said: “This vote comes just over 100 days after 77 percent of the members of the same body voted to extend the ban. What has changed?”
The Fencing World Championships in Milan take place in July. The qualifying phase for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris begins in April and lasts until spring 2024. “Sport should offer equal rights and conditions, and common sense finally prevailed,” Russian Tokyo Olympic champion Sofja Velikaja was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency after the decision.