By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his sports ministry and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to offer recommendations on whether or not Russian athletes should compete at this summer’s Paris Olympics.
Putin has reportedly asked the ministry and ROC to begin looking into the regulations of specific sporting organizations to see what is possible in terms of both qualifying and competing at the Games, with an ultimate decision to come on if they’ll send athletes or not.
“The President instructed the Ministry of Sports and the ROC to make proposals for the participation of our athletes in the Olympics in Paris,” Putin’s assistant, Igor Levitin, told a Moscow forum, according to The Sports Examiner (TSX)‘s Rich Perelman.
“Since qualifying competitions are already underway, it is necessary to decide for each federation on what conditions they will participate in the Games and what declarations will be required for them with from international sports organizations so that we can make a decision on the participation of our athletes.”
Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said the sanctions being posed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the access Russian athletes will be granted at the Games are far too strict, likely indicating the government won’t send anyone to Paris.
“One of the key objectives of sport is humanitarian. In this regard, the actions of the International Olympic Committee and some federations to restrict the access of our athletes look categorically unacceptable,” said Matytsin, according to TSX. “This is a direct violation of the Olympic Charter. Requirements to sign declarations are unacceptable.”
“The key will be respect for the interests of our athletes, coaches and compliance with the Olympic Charter. We have repeatedly said that the demands of some federations to sign a declaration are unacceptable for our athletes. We await the final decisions and recommendations of the IOC on the participation of our athletes. And we will make the appropriate decision together with the Russian Olympic Committee and the sports community.”
Perelman noted in TSX that a lot of what is being said by the Russians parallels what we saw in 1984, when the Soviets boycotted the Games in Los Angeles.
Additionally, Russia’s state-sponsored news agency TASS has started presenting the Paris Games in a negative light and questioning whether or not it will even take place.
The IOC has been steadfast in its position of only allowing Russians to compete as individual, neutral athletes at the Games.
The entry deadline for the Olympics is July 8.
SwimSwam: President Putin Orders ROC To Put Forth Proposals On Russian Participation In Paris
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