The organizers of the 2023 European Games in Poland will not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate, despite the position of the International Olympic Committee.
The IOC has previously announced its readiness to consider the issue of admitting Russians and Belarusians to the Asian Games and giving them the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics in Paris.
The compromise (??) by the IOC makes no sense. It’s impossible to decide which athletes in Russia support Putin’s war and which do not.
Olympic Champion from Ukraine, Oleg Verniaiev (verniaiev13 on Instagram) has issued his opinion of the IOC statement re the possibility of Russia competing at the 2024 Olympics pic.twitter.com/RtjTMyP3NT
Angelina Melnikova took part in a military march, posing with a Russian army veteran, holding a cardboard box marked with the letter Z, the militaristic symbol associated with supporters of the invasion of Ukraine.
What’s the plan IOC? Are you going to allow Melnikova and not Nagorny?
WHO is going to decide?
Valentina Rodionenko claims that IOC's condition that athletes shouldn't have openly supported the war is meant to remove the competition because all the leaders of the Russian gymnastics team expressed support for the war https://t.co/aQP7jveaqp
Clearly this compromise is going to blow up the face of the Olympic movement. Russians are going to compete, return home, then brag about their support of Putin’s war.
Look what happened in Australia when Tennis decided to allow Russian and Belarusian players. Pro-Russia supporters arrive with Putin and ‘Z’ banners
Russian flag, Putinβs face, Z-shirt, and what looks like the flag of the so-called βDPRβ? Full package guys π€¦ββοΈπ€¦ββοΈ @AustralianOpenpic.twitter.com/FQi2w2EEWA
The press release mentions that Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was banned β while participation of βindependent athletesβ was allowed at the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992.
It carefully avoids including the fact that South Africa did not compete at Olympic Games from 1964 to 1988, as part of the boycott of apartheid. The South African National Olympic Committee (NOC) was expelled from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1970.
Banning South Africa helped speed the end of apartheid.
Banning Russia might help speed the end of innocent civilians being killed by Putin.
The IOC should ban Russia from Paris. Or allow all athletes to compete Paris as independents. One or the other.
Statement on solidarity with Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and the status of athletes from these countriesπ https://t.co/OGk1HqoN1N
After finishing 37th AA representing Egypt at the 2017 Worlds, Adem left his parents in Egypt to move to Turkey (TΓΌrkiye) because his coach had relocated there.
Be clear that Adem did not move because of problems in Egypt. In fact, Gymnastics in Egypt is booming. They have a terrific National Training Centre.
He began competing under the name Adem Asil in 2021. A reinvention. But his teammates still call him Abdel in the Gym.
It’s a great story. Click over to FIG to read more:
Lee wants to try to replicate her performances on the mat, too. She’s described experiencing imposter syndrome after taking home the individual all-around crown, a feeling almost certainly tied to teammate Simone Biles’ withdrawal from the event at the last minute.
… still wants to show herself and the rest of the world that her success in 2021 wasn’t a fluke. …