Olympic experiments on people: the IOC put forward unacceptable conditions for Russian sports

IOC requirements

What did the IOC Executive Committee allow our athletes to:

– compete only as neutral athletes in the individual competition, teams are not considered;

– athletes who actively support the war cannot compete;

– Athletes working under a contract with the military or national security agencies cannot participate in competitions;

– any individual neutral athlete must comply with all anti-doping requirements;

– no flags, anthems, or any other identifying marks of Russia and Belarus are allowed at any sporting event.

Each International Federation may interpret these recommendations in its own way, and the IOC will ensure their correct application. Trying somehow, if at all possible, to respect the basic rights and freedoms of athletes.

“Totally unacceptable”

“We regard the decisions of the IOC as recognition of their own mistake made at the time of the adoption of the recommendations on February 28, 2022 on the non-admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international competitions. The announced parameters and criteria for the return of Russians to international competitions are absolutely unacceptable. This is discrimination based on nationality, a violation of basic human rights.

We also categorically disagree with the application of any additional doping test procedures to Russian athletes. The restrictions against RUSADA expired last December. We consider the proposed conditions unreasonable, legally untenable and excessive.

As for the ban on the participation of Russians in team competitions, there is not just discrimination against athletes by passport, but also by the disciplines they represent. This approach is contrary to the Olympic Charter, the UN Charter, any generally accepted norms.

The stated position on the non-admission to competitions of athletes who are registered in the military and law enforcement agencies or have contractual relations with them, lays the foundation for an internal conflict in Russian sports, aims to divide our athletes into “acceptable” and “other” not only on a national basis, cause damage to the sports industry in Russia as a whole. The decisions of the IOC Executive Committee are nothing more than a farce, ”the official statement of the Russian Olympic Committee says.

“The recommendations of the IOC to classify Russian athletes are illegal, and a separate decision on team sports is openly discriminatory,” said Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin.

“It is clear that the chaos continues. The military can travel and travel the world, but they cannot perform – well, what is it? In Germany, there are athletes who belong to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and sports there are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, and Thomas Bach knows this like no one else, ”two-time Olympic champion Vyacheslav Fetisov expressed his position.

“This is not a story about medals, this is about experiments on our humanity, these are experiments on the essence of a person,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sputnik radio.

“I really understand today’s athletes: when you are ready to show everything you are capable of, many people have such readiness, it is once in a lifetime. I understand all this, but my heart cannot accept such humiliation. Are we crawling on our belly to these competitions?!” said two-time Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics Lidia Ivanova.

“But would you go to hell with all your conditions and recommendations, dear IOC? I will not allow any “international commission” to analyze my views and beliefs and decide whether to allow me to the World Cup. Run yourself in this case, ”wrote Olympic champion skier Veronika Stepanova in her telegram channel.

Even if our athletes agree to accept all the conditions of the IOC, this may not be enough. What the president of the Russian Biathlon Union Viktor Maigurov said: “Biathletes will be able to quit the security forces in order to participate in international competitions, if this is the only obstacle. But today it is not the only one that the IOC is talking about. One way or another, there will be our common position – together with the ROC and the Ministry of Sports, which will not stop and continue the dialogue, ”Match TV quotes Maigurov as saying.

What’s next?

The participation of Russian athletes in the 2024 Olympics has not yet been discussed. To begin with, we need to be able to take part in the qualifying and qualifying tournaments.

And here lies the main question. And what will happen to our elite sport if, after passing all the commissions and investigations, only a few singles will reach Paris (we are not even talking about the 2026 Winter Olympics yet)? Why should basketball players, volleyball players and all other participants in team competitions train?

Or, let’s say, what about the Olympic champion Nikita Nagorny, the head of the Yunarmiya headquarters? Will it be considered a military organization or not? Or the Olympic champion gymnast Victoria Listunova, brought up in Sambo-70. What if some IOC official thinks that SAMBO is not just a sport, but a special case?

Moreover, if such criteria were applied to our athletes during the Tokyo Summer Olympics, then our team would win only one instead of 20 gold medals, and would be in 50th place in the overall medal standings.

In addition to tournaments held under the auspices of the IOC, there are many other international competitions in the world that, in theory, do not fall under all these “recommendations”. But many international federations cover up their discriminatory actions against Russian athletes precisely by the decision of the IOC. That is why Bach has been trying so hysterically in recent months to prove that he is not bad, but life is like that. But the chances of salvation for him and the IOC are less and less. Because not only we, but also our detractors in the world of sports are less and less satisfied with the actions of Bach. Demanding more and more blood. Moreover, on March 28, in addition to strengthening their shameful “recommendations,” the IOC also issued an appeal in support of Ukrainian athletes. Completely forgetting that there are also athletes from other countries who are also suffering from armed conflicts. For example, Palestine. Not a word about them. Are they not people? Or is it different? And if our Olympians are treated this way today, will they act the same way tomorrow against the Poles, Germans and Americans in similar situations?

The IOC website says that the Olympic Committee is a non-profit civil, non-governmental international organization that is fully funded from private sources. And if the fish rots from the head, then maybe these sources need to be cleaned?

Otherwise, Russian and Belarusian athletes will continue to be humiliated, hiding behind beautiful words about protecting world peace and other good intentions.