The russian weightlifting team refused to speak out against the war in Ukraine, in connection with which the full strength was not allowed to the Grand Prix stage, which will be held in Havana from 8 to 18 June.
Earlier, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) in neutral status allowed russians and Belarusians to the tournament, provided that all representatives of the russian federation and Belarus had to sign special declaration where it was confirmed in writing that the athletes did not support the fighting, and also do not currently have any contractual or other ties with the armed forces, state Security Agencies.
“At the time of the expiration of the deadline (May 15, 2023), no signed declarations were received from athletes and service personnel with a russian passport. Therefore, the lifters of the russian federation and the personnel associated with them with russian passports have lost the opportunity to get to the upcoming competition in Cuba” – the report said.
The official representative of the russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, reacted to these conditions: “There is no reasonable explanation that athletes who have devoted their entire lives to training and competitions, profess general Olympic commandments, are not allowed according to the national principles. IWF came to an open totalitarian. Although in words everyone is fighting for freedom, democracy and tolerance”.
In turn, the president of the russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Stanislav Pozdnyakov to the IOC’s demands to condemn the war in Ukraine said: “Today in sport they try to build deaf walls, dividing athletes into suitable and unsuitable according to far-fetched criteria. With the claim to the right to sort people by their “origin” and passport… The IOC recommendations formulated recently mean forcing our athletes to renounce their homeland, from their teammates, from involvement in everything what is connected with the Motherland “.
The official also accused international organizations and federations of politicizing sports and violating the rights of athletes from the aggressor country: “Sanctions, criteria and everything else is a puppet sports theater, where engaged, political figures pull the strings. This is nothing more than a farce, where the rights of our athletes are blatantly violated by many international organizations. The pandemic of self-destruction of Olympic unity at the root cuts a new word in the IOC motto “Together.” All the work of the CDD is based on practical interaction with partners, not on empty propaganda and slogans. Our common mission is to make people better in the sport”.
It is interesting to see how the heads of a country that devalues all international norms, laws and rules complain that they are not treated like others. The occupiers continue to introduce Crimean athletes into Russian sports, however, the prospects for such “introduction” and “development” can not be commented on.
