The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is formal. “It’s not up to governments to decide” the participation of certain countries in international competitions and in particular the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. “I have spoken with many Ukrainian athletes in recent months, and many of them support us because they know how much we share their suffering and the efforts we are making to help them”said Thomas Bach, Sunday, February 12 in Courchevel, where he attended the world championships in alpine skiing.
A response to kyiv’s remarks accusing the body based in Lausanne (Switzerland) of being a “war promoter” in Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, has repeatedly called for the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the next Olympic Games, calling again this week for “Protect the Olympic Charter”.
Invited Friday, February 10 to speak at the opening of a meeting of sports ministers from 35 countries to address the issue of a possible reintegration of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, the Ukrainian president estimated that their presence would be “a sign of violence and impunity”. And to argue: “It cannot be covered up with so-called neutrality or a white flag. Because Russia is now a country that stains everything with blood – even the white flag. (…) The International Olympic Committee needs honesty. An honesty that he has unfortunately lost. »
“Violation of their rights”
On January 25, the IOC unveiled a roadmap marking out the conditions for a return of Russian and Belarusian athletes – under a neutral flag and provided they do not have “not actively supported the war in Ukraine” –, arguing that“no athlete should be banned from competition on the sole basis of their passport”.
“A UN Human Rights Council rapporteur told us that excluding Russian or Belarusian athletes solely because of their passports is a violation of their rights”said the boss of the CIO on Sunday.
Several European states, including the Czech Republic, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Poland, have already expressed their firm opposition to any reinstatement. Although few in number, some – Latvia, Estonia and Poland – had even said they were considering a boycott of the high mass of sport. In a letter dated January 31 and revealed Thursday by the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, IOC President Thomas Bach denounced this posture as going “against the fundamentals of the Olympic movement”.
Member of the IOC and president of the Paris-2024 Athletes’ Commission, the former biathlon star Martin Fourcade said on Saturday that he was in favor of the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to competitions. “As a representative of athletes and as an athlete, I think we should think about a return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to sports competitions”, said the French in an interview in English with the NRK channel. According to him, these Russian and Belarusian athletes should be able to compete under a neutral banner, while specifying that “totally supports the Ukrainian people”.
A question of principle, according to Martin Fourcade
The IOC Athletes’ Commission is divided on the question of a possible reinstatement. “It’s not like there’s a clear yes or no majority. It’s really balanced.” Fourcade said. Saying he was in favor of sanctions against the Russian authorities, the former biathlete also recalled having been one of the only athletes to publicly attack Russian doping which notably tainted the Sochi Olympics.
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The five-time Olympic champion stressed that he was speaking in a personal capacity and that it was a question of principle, not necessarily linked to the Paris Olympics. “For me, Paris or not Paris, that’s not the question. My location is not tied to a date [donnée] or at the next World Cup »he added.
On the French side, the situation is confused. A few days after having defended the principle of the neutral banner so as not to “deprive athletes of their competition”, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, backpedaled. The socialist, who was visiting the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, finally said she was against their participation as long as the war continued.