2024 Olympics - IOC boss Bach defends admission of Russian athletes
IOC President Thomas Bach has defended the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus to the 2024 Olympic Games.
The International Olympic Committee had recently decided that individual athletes from both countries would be eligible to compete in Paris under certain conditions despite the war against Ukraine. Ukraine had sharply attacked the decision, and there had also been criticism from Russia
In an interview with "Welt am Sonntag", Bach emphasized that he did not see how the decision should influence the course of the war in Moscow's favour. The 1976 Olympic fencing champion pointed out that the competitors would have to compete without a flag, without national identification and without an anthem and would not be allowed to belong to the military or the security authorities. "This is yet another reminder to the entire world of the sanctions imposed by this government," said Bach. So far, six athletes with Russian passports have qualified for the Olympics.
"Good middle ground found"
He does not fear a boycott of the Games by Ukraine. "Why should Ukraine punish its own athletes for the invasion of the Russian army in Ukraine and take away their dream of the Olympics?" asked Bach. "You are not a supporter of war only if you don't fulfill every Ukrainian demand, especially as we have supported the Ukrainian athletes with unprecedented solidarity since the beginning of the war."
From the reactions, Bach concludes that neither side is satisfied. "This means that we have obviously found a good middle ground," explained the IOC President, who will soon be 70 years old.
A possible relocation of the 2026 Olympic competitions in bobsleigh, luge and skeleton from Italy to Germany is out of the question if Russian participants are not allowed to enter the country. "That's the way it is," said Bach. He had asked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) about this at the G20 summit in Indonesia last year. "Since then, the thread of the conversation has unfortunately been broken," said Bach. Despite the current lack of a dedicated track, the competitions at the Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo are to take place in Italy, sports minister Andrea Abodi recently emphasized.
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Source: www.stern.de
