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Putin complains about conditions for Russian Olympic starters

In the dispute over the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympic Games, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has spoken out in favor of this in principle. But only under certain conditions.

,   and  Michael Bootcampf
2 min read
In the dispute over the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympics, Vladimir Putin has....aussiedlerbote.de
In the dispute over the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympics, Vladimir Putin has spoken out in favor of it in principle. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Sports policy - Putin complains about conditions for Russian Olympic starters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized the conditions for allowing Russian athletes to take part in the Olympic Games.

In principle, he is in favor of their participation in international competitions - even without flying the flag or playing the anthem, the Kremlin leader said at his major press conference on Thursday. "Everyone knows that these are our athletes."

However, if the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) restrictions were aimed at sifting out the best Russian athletes and showing that Russian sport was finished, the Russian authorities would have to reconsider participation, the 71-year-old added. The IOC had suspended Russian athletes because of the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by Putin.

Permission to compete subject to conditions

Last week, the IOC then granted individual athletes from Russia and Belarus permission to compete in the 2024 Summer Games subject to certain conditions, provided they meet the qualification requirements. As is already the case for the return to international competitions, the condition is that Russians and Belarusians may only compete in Paris under a neutral flag. Teams are not permitted.

Furthermore, these athletes must have no connection to the army or security forces and must not have actively shown their support for the war in Ukraine. It remains unclear how this access restriction is to be checked and safeguarded across the board. In addition, the anti-doping guidelines must be met - another requirement whose implementation is likely to cause debate in world sport given Russia's long list of doping offenders.

Putin has now sharply criticized these restrictions. This would exclude athletes who are registered with leading sports clubs such as ZSKA or Dynamo. ZSKA is the abbreviation for Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces. Dynamo is traditionally regarded as a club with close ties to the Russian secret service. However, Putin denied existing links between such clubs and the security services.

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Source: www.stern.de

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