Elina Svitolina hopes the IOC will “do the right thing” and Ukraine won’t be forced to boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Two weeks ago, the IOC presented a plan to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Paris Olympics as neutrals.
The Ukrainian Olympic Committee is strongly against those plans and they have indicated they might decide to boycott the Paris Olympics.
“This is the right way because when the war is still here and people are still dying because of the Russian army, we can’t go and lead normal lives like nothing is happening. In tennis there was no action taken. They put them under a neutral flag. I hope we don’t have to make this decision of boycotting the Olympics,” Svitolina told Reuters.
Svitolina: Our venues have been destroyed
Ukraine’s infrastructure has been severely damaged and ruined since the start of the Russian invasion.
“Our athletes aren’t training in good conditions. Almost all sports venues have been destroyed,” Svitolina noted.
After the IOC revealed plans to allow Russian and Belarusian plans to compete at the Olympics, Svitolina shared a message explaining why that should not happen.
“The Olympics are the biggest dream and ultimate privilege for athletes. They are the largest platform for inclusion and diversity in sports, capturing the attention of the world. With this in mind we must stick to banning Russian and Belarusian athletes, sending a strong message worldwide, that we are united in the sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus and that there are consequences for the heinous acts of their governments; their lives cannot continue as normal and the world, nor the Russian or Belarusian people can be ignorant of the atrocities they are committing in Ukraine,” Svitolina said in a message posted on her social media.
Meanwhile, Svitolina is currently sidelined as she hasn’t played since last year’s March.
In October, Svitolina and her husband Gael Monfils welcomed their first child.
Svitolina is expected to return at some point in 2023.
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