How Bach Became a Fighter for Russia

Sports in the world after the IOC statement

The IOC wants to return Russia to international competitions, ahead of the Olympic Games. And it’s not just the world championships. The competition of the Games should be much more attractive for many financial reasons. Is the IOC proposal for status neutrality an option for our return? Many in Russia have already spoken out against it. Other countries are also protesting – they have their own vision. Does the IOC have other options? Or will the wave of boycott, which the IOC personally created a year ago with its own decision to remove Russia from competitions, wash away all attempts to correct national discrimination allowed in sports?

… Yes, if everything were so poetic, as FIG President Morinari Watanabe once said, opening the next World Cup without Russia: “We must not forget that there are flowers in the world that want to bloom, but cannot do it under the weight of snow” . IOC dropped some snow from those buried flowers. But Olympic weather may turn around again.

Alas, the beauty of words will not save the sports world. Yes, I want to be, in spite of everything, an optimist, but it turns out badly so far. It seems that the IOC finally extended its hand to us after the removal of the athletes. But after all, hatred in sports, which entails blackmail and speculation, he himself allowed. He divided the athletes into friends and foes. He allowed the hostages to be taken away according to the passport.

The last three days have been a new flurry of emotions from the IOC. First, we heard about the proposed neutral status for Russia and Belarus to compete at international competitions. Yes, yes, with a careful study of the personal files of athletes: he was not noticed, did not participate, did not say and wrote what the IOC considers unacceptable. This was followed by an official invitation from the Chinese to the Asian Games. Afterwards, a laconic confirmation of the IOC’s statements already personally from President Thomas Bach: you can be allowed to Paris-2024 in a neutral status, because “the suspension does not correspond to our values.” And even his verbal shrug at the threat of a boycott from the Ukrainians: “this is contrary to the mission of the Olympic movement.”

Words have already been said that tear the souls of many. This status – without a flag and an anthem – spits at her again. And the words – humiliation and handouts from the IOC – break through even among those who have always advocated precisely this: sport is out of politics.

Sound, cover them with words or not, political demands. Whatever the admission criteria for our athletes may turn out to be in the end, this very essence will pulsate in the bare balance. And we can say a hundred times: it is not the business of the IOC to evaluate the policy of the state. And the Olympic organization has no right to demand from the athletes a report on their political position … But it is very difficult to turn the sport towards purification from slogans and political statements. Here and now is simply impossible. This is reality.

No, now the IOC says: you can’t look into the passport. Not Olympic. But the hostages must act under a neutral flag. So it is necessary. And the question remains the same: if there is no discrimination, then why is there a proposal for a neutral status? Is it necessary?

And what a diversity of opinions there is in this matter: what we consider humiliation, some part of the world considers their own humiliation too. Like: but how does the language turn such proposals, how can these Russians be allowed to participate in international competitions?

For example, one of the Norwegian commentators simply branded the entire IOC at once. Said that Thomas Bach had fooled the vast majority of its members, and this makes them “useful idiots for the Kremlin.”

There have always been enough unfriendly – such terminology is now in use – leaders of federations and athletes. Of course, before the events in Ukraine. There are downright passionate lovers of Russia in their anger: it seems that they are only engaged in studying any statement of colleagues on social networks, any posted photo. Today the aggravation goes everywhere. The wave from the IOC has covered his head, the IOC is already backing away, he is already trying to knock it down with an oncoming wave, but so far there is no particular result.

Investment in the world

Emotions are not constructive, rules must come into play. With the admission of Russian athletes to international competitions, which were announced by the IOC, certain criteria will work. And they were determined only after consultations of the International Olympic Committee and international federations. And each federation is the sole governing body for its competitions.

And what about the federations? And there – as it was. Whoever thought and talked about “flowers under the snow” is ready to think further about the unity of sport. Who habitually lyutoval, he continues. The situation again shows: who is a friend, who is an enemy, and who is so…

One of the first for the return of our athletes was the International Judo Federation. Marius Wieser, President of the IJF, says: “We invest in peace because we strongly believe that sport can promote and even resolve conflict.” And reminds: today we are all in an extreme situation where “governments prohibit or block the participation” of athletes from other countries, and not their own, in international sporting events. And “the reintegration of judokas from Russia and Belarus into international competitions” is based on irrefutable arguments. It is known to everyone: one of the main pillars of the Olympic Charter remains the non-discriminatory participation of athletes without exception. And sport has always been, is and will remain the most important platform of unity, solidarity and friendship, “if not between nations, but certainly between people.”

And the president of the International Gymnastics Federation, Morinari Watanabe, suggested that, of course, the reaction may vary depending on the sport, there is no consensus today, but he expressed support for the IOC decision on the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Not everyone has spoken yet, many are waiting for clear rules on who and how to allow. But the trends and sentiments are clear. For example, the Secretary General of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, Michel Vion, said that the national teams of Russia and Belarus have no chance to take part in the next world championship in skiing, if the issue of admission is considered, then in the spring.

And right there, not a separate federation, but the whole National Olympic Committee of Norway spoke in a sharp tone: the NOC does not want Russia and Belarus to participate in international competitions. “In the current situation, this is wrong and we strongly recommend not to do so.” Estonians, Finns, Swedes – one duda. The UK intends to urgently develop a common opinion with like-minded countries on the issue. “The voiced position of the IOC is now inappropriate.”

Of course – Ukraine, which on the third of February will discuss the option of a boycott. True, here Thomas Bach has already spoken sharply, his words are quoted by Spiegel: “We know the point of view of Ukraine, which wants to isolate Russia not only as a state, but also wants to completely isolate all Russians. Individual athletes should not be discriminated against even if countries are in conflict.”

How can we separate politics from sports? Or vice versa? Is it possible at all, and especially in the current situation? A lot of emotions. They cannot be. Suspension from starts on the “national question” was doomed to cancellation. But the whole year it worked and still continues to work. During this time, the increasing degree of hatred in some sports, letters of protest, blackmail – if they appear, we will leave – have become commonplace. And what wave they will take now is difficult to predict.

Asia called, but the IOC will decide

While there are no admission criteria, there is no Olympic unanimity either, but there is an invitation to perform in Asia. And it’s quite specific. The Olympic Council of Asia, OCA, has decided to invite Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Asian Games (which will be held from September 23 to October 8 in China) to give them the opportunity to participate in the selection for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Why? Because our athletes have not yet had the opportunity to go through the qualifying starts in the traditional way, and no. Time is running out to get Olympic quotas for Paris 2024, and the OCA, according to the acting president of the OCA, Randhir Singh, is supporting athletes, as there is no place for politics in sport. “The idea is to give them the opportunity to take part in the Paris Olympics.”

Let’s go to Asia to return to the usual arenas? This is what it looks like in theory. Is there anything to be afraid of? Is there a risk of leaving for Asia to return back? As the famous Daria Domracheva well said, one cannot refuse an outstretched hand, but it would be deeply wrong to be offended by the rest of the world and completely switch to only one part of the world. And you need to step in stages, then there will be less fears. Foreseeing everything and writing down daily instructions will not work.

So far, the OCA has already worked out the issues of obtaining quotas for our athletes: according to the leaders of the organization, the qualification points of Russia and Belarus will not interfere with the existing system for distributing medals or Asian quotas for the Olympic Games. That is, native OCA athletes will not be deprived. The IOC will develop the Olympic quota policy together with the OCA and the International Federations. And even other medals will be awarded to our representatives.

And – yes: the question of whether the native anthem will sound in the Asian arenas and the state flag of Russia and Belarus will be raised will also be decided by the IOC.

And the OCA statement on the official website of the organization is as follows: the organization remains on standby, as the IOC continues to study with international federations ways to return Russian and Belarusian athletes “under strict conditions.” Everything is still shaky here.