Contact at the Olympic Games
Ukrainians receive clear instructions on how to deal with Russians
26.07.2024, 20:31
For Ukrainian athletes, the Olympic Games are an extreme challenge given the war at home. What makes it even worse is that they will also be running into Russian athletes in Paris. In this case, there are clear instructions.
Ukraine’s Olympic athletes have once again criticized the admission of Russians and Belarusians as neutral athletes at the Summer Games in Paris. “As long as our people are being killed, our houses in Ukraine are being bombed and our borders are being occupied, Russia has no right to be at the Olympics,” said Vadym Hutzait, head of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee. He was referring to the 15 Russians and 17 Belarusians who are competing under a neutral flag. Russia as a nation was excluded from the IOC because of Moscow’s war of aggression, which is supported by its ally Belarus.
Hutzajt also reported how his protégés currently behave in the Olympic Village if they come across Russian athletes: “For us, the Russian and Belarusian athletes do not exist. We do not greet them, we do not say hello, we do not even look at them.” For the approximately 150 Ukrainian Olympic participants, this is an extreme situation. “All Ukrainians in the Olympic Village feel the war, have lost relatives or friends.”
Fencer Olha Charlan and tennis ace Yelina Switolina caused a stir in recent months when they refused to shake hands with Russian opponents. Charlan now criticised the fact that many former Russian athletes have changed their nationality and are now competing for other countries in Paris. “This should be checked much more strictly. There is information that some of them also support the war.”
Delegation leader Hutzajt emphasized the extreme conditions under which his athletes had to prepare. Charlan, for example, comes from Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, which is repeatedly the target of Russian missile and drone attacks. “You can’t imagine what it’s like for them to train and compete here, always knowing that bad news could come from home at any time.”
The Ukrainian diver Oleksij Sereda, whose father joined the military after the war began and is now fighting against the Russian invaders, is in a similar situation. Rower Anastasia Koshenkova said: “It is so hard to see your country under bombardment, it is hard to see your own child under the bombs. I keep thinking that I just want to hold him in my arms.” When asked whether he would advise his athletes not to shake hands in possible duels with Russians or Belarusians during the Olympics, Hutzajt said: “The most important thing is that my athletes do not allow themselves to be provoked.”