Russian wrestlers cleared for Paris

Zaurbek Sidakov, Zaur Uguev and Abdulrashid Sadulayev are 3 of the eight athletes already named as eligible by IOC.

Attending a war rally with Putin did not disqualify.

Article from September 19, 2023:

Three Olympic champions from Russia were cleared to compete at the world wrestling championships this week because they were judged to have been pressured to appear at a pro-war rally in Moscow last year.

The United World Wrestling governing body explained Tuesday why Zaurbek Sidakov, Zaur Uguev and Abdulrashid Sadulayev were among the Russian wrestlers who passed vetting to compete as neutral athletes in Belgrade, Serbia.

All three won Olympic gold medals at the Tokyo Games held in 2021 and were paraded on stage at a flag-waving rally at Luzhniki Stadium in March 2022. It was attended by President Vladimir Putin three weeks after he ordered the military invasion of Ukraine.

The athletes’ presence there seemed likely to bar their return to competition with neutral status ahead of the Paris Games. The International Olympic Committee advised the governing bodies of each individual sport in March to exclude those who publicly supported the war.

However, a vetting process for the three wrestlers concluded “their participation in certain events is not (of) their own will,” United World Wrestling said in a statement.

The governing body’s vetting panel did bar 30 athletes, coaches and support staff from Russia and its military ally Belarus from coming to the Sept. 16-24 championships. …

Wrestling body says why Russian champions competed at worlds despite pro-war rally

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Rick Mc

Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.

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