Russian
president Vladimir Putin will not block any Russian athletes from
competing in the Olympics, even though Russia as a country will not be
permitted to compete.
The International Olympic Committee handed down a landmark ban on Tuesday, blocking
Russia from competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics, citing Russia’s
widespread, coordinated doping effort over many years. However, the
IOC left individual athletes a lifeline, offering them the opportunity
to compete under the neutral designation “OAR” (Olympic Athletes from
Russia). Should they win a medal, Russia’s flag would not be displayed,
and its anthem would not be played.
Russia continues to dispute the IOC’s ruling, but Putin said at a rally announcing his intent to seek re-election that he would not stand in the way of athletes wishing to compete, nor would the nation boycott the Olympics.
“Without any doubt we will not declare any kind of blockade,” Putin
said. “We will not block our Olympians from taking part, if any of them
wish to take part as individuals. They have been preparing for these
competitions for their whole careers, and for them it’s very important.”
“I’d
like to tell all Russian athletes preparing for the Olympics in
PyeongChang not to get disappointed in any case and definitely not to do
anything stupid like a boycott,” two-time Olympic gold medalist Yelena
Isinbayeva, a Russian member of the IOC, said after the ruling. “It’s clearly not worth it.”
The
IOC is working on “operational guidelines” for how to handle Russian
athletes who wish to compete, ranging from uniforms the athletes will
wear to flags that fans can display in the stands. At the same time, the
IOC is hearing appeals from Russian athletes who were disqualified from
the Sochi Games.
No comments:
Post a Comment