More and more Russian sports federations are refusing to participate in the Paris Olympics

The Russian Archery Federation (RFSL) has officially refused to participate in the Olympics, which starts on July 26 in Paris. The decision of the RFSL continued the trend towards its actual boycott, which became a response to the ultra-strict conditions for admission of Russians approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Earlier, similar statements were made by representatives of such sports as boxing, artistic gymnastics, and diving. In some others, functionaries make it clear that they are ready to follow their example.

On Wednesday, the head of the Russian Archery Federation, Vladimir Yesheev, said that leading Russian archers had decided not to participate in qualifying tournaments for the Paris Olympics. “There are no people in the national team who want to perform without a flag and anthem, especially since many of us represent CSKA and Dynamo,” said Mr. Yesheev TASS. He also noted that “the executive committee of the federation approved the participation of athletes in a neutral status,” “but they themselves did not show interest in going to the Olympics.” Archery is not the most medal-intensive event in the Olympic program (there are only five sets of medals awarded), but the Russians would most likely have a good chance of winning medals if they made it to Paris. At the previous Olympics, held in Tokyo in 2021, the Russian team won two silver medals. They were won by Elena Osipova and the women’s team.

The decision of the RFSL fits well into the already formed trend. Previously, a “conscious” refusal to participate in the Paris Games was announced federations overseeing boxing, artistic gymnastics and diving.

According to Kommersant, the All-Russian Swimming Federation is leaning towards the same option.

The presidential statement can also be equated to a declaration of boycott All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics Irina Viner, who reportedthat, in her opinion, in accordance with the conditions of the International Olympic Committee, “a team of homeless people without a flag, an anthem, or fans” should perform from Russia in Paris.

The fact that Russian sports federations show no desire to compete in Paris at any cost is not surprising. After all, the admission criteria defined by the IOC are so strict (they include, in particular, refusal to support the SVO and the inadmissibility of belonging to the armed forces and national security agencies of the Russian Federation) that even the head sports structure itself admitted that a maximum of 55 athletes from Russia will go to the Games , and most likely no more than 36. For comparison: in Tokyo the Russian delegation consisted of 330 athletes.

However, Russia will probably still have some kind of representation in Paris. The opposite could be argued if the Russian authorities unequivocally spoke out against going to the Olympics. But Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, who oversees the sports industry, last week notedthat “if there is an opportunity to take part, then you probably should go.”

Alexander Petrov