The IOC prescribed distancing for Russian athletes – Sport – Kommersant

President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach for the first time announced the possibility of the return of Russian athletes to international competitions. True, judging by his words, it is ghostly. Mr. Bach believes that neutral status can only be granted to “distanced from the regime” athletes. And even in this case, as the head of the IOC pointed out, serious obstacles “at the political level” may arise in their way.

The situation in which Russian sports have found themselves in recent months has become the main topic of Thomas Bach’s interview with the Italian edition Corriere della Sera. During the interview, Mr. Bach made a rather unexpected confession at first glance, given that it is on the spring recommendations of the International Olympic Committee that the “isolation” strategy of the vast majority of international sports federations in relation to domestic athletes and teams is based.

The IOC President said that “Russian athletes, of course, did not start the war”, and those of them “who distanced themselves from the regime should be able to compete under a neutral flag.”

“Our goal is to return athletes with a Russian passport who do not support the war to participate in competitions,” said Thomas Bach.

He did not explain what in this case is meant by “distancing” from the special operation in Ukraine. But there is a very recent example of a likely interpretation of the term. International Motorsport Federation (FIA) in September put and in front of the famous Russian team “KAMAZ-master” the condition, the fulfillment of which turned out to be necessary in order for it to be able to enter the Dakar rally. The condition was to sign a document containing clauses condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Representatives of KAMAZ-master refused to sign it.

However, even Thomas Bach himself honestly said that the admission of Russians to competitions in reality would be “difficult” to implement due to obstacles “at the political level”. He noted that “some governments have independently taken the decision to deny visas to Russian athletes on their territory, even if they are allowed to compete,” and “others, in retaliation, forbid their athletes to compete with Russians.” “Our peacekeeping mission is failing,” said Mr. Bach, who refused to even suggest whether the Russian team has a chance to compete at the next Olympics: it will be held in Paris in 2024. “Who am I to know about this?” Thomas Bach said.

Arnold Kabanov