By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
Though the Paris Games are quickly approaching, Russian Diving Federation President Stanislav Druzhinin is looking beyond them to LA 2028. However, Druzhinin told TASS, a Russian news agency, that he does not see a path to his athletes participation in 2028.
“My personal opinion is that we are unlikely to go to the Olympics in Los Angeles. We’ll see, but under the current conditions there can’t even be a conversation about a trip. They violate the sporting principle and are a manifestation of discrimination. There is absolutely no point in going.”
Druzhinin also stated that his athletes will not attend the Paris Olympic Games because the majority of them are a part of Dynamo and CSKA sport clubs, which are currently banned for being affiliated with “security agencies.” These connections would likely prohibit them from competing as neutrals. And even if they were granted neutral status, Druzhinin is skeptical about their treatment.
“The question is how they will be treated there,” Druzhinin said to the press. “Will they feel like outcasts, sitting apart from everyone and not communicating with anyone? In my understanding, they will. International competitions have turned into politics, unfriendly countries are trying to prove something, infringing on the rights of our athletes, who just want to perform on equal terms with others.”
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) appealed its indefinite suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in front of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on January 26th. The ROC was suspended after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 court. CAS upheld the IOC policy on the basis of Russia absorbing 22 sports federations–including swimming–in its illegally annexed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) as part of an effort to “accelerate the integration of new regions into Russian sports life” in June 2023.
The IOC specified that its sanctions will not impact Russian and Belarusian athletes being allowed to compete as individual neutrals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, as long as they have not supported the war. Thus, Russia’s CAS appeal should not have any bearing on Olympic inclusion this summer. Druzhinin has criticized this decision before, saying the rules will have the effect of isolating Russian athletes and making them feel like “outcasts.”
In January, Russian Olympic medalist Ivan Grinev was granted neutral status for the 2024 World Championships, though ultimately he was not entered into the meet.
SwimSwam: Russian Diving Federation President Sees “No Point In Going” To 2028 Olympic Games
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