Mysterious Russians
Fewer Than Two Dozens of Russians and Russians Compete at the Olympics. A Report Reveals How Many Manage to Attend Despite Sanctions
Only 15 Russian athletes are allowed to participate in the Summer Olympics in Paris. They were able to convince the International Olympic Committee that they did not support Russia's population law-violating war against Ukraine and had no connection to the Russian military. However, outside of these "Individually Neutral Athletes," which also includes Belarusian athletes, a large number of Russians and Russians are competing in France.
"There will actually be several dozen Russian-born athletes in Paris," writes the "Wall Street Journal," adding that "they will compete under the flags of other countries, having recently adopted new citizenships to bypass the numerous sanctions against Russian sports." This reportedly kept some Olympic hopefuls alive, as the restrictions due to the war are much stricter than those previously imposed due to Russian state doping.
For comparison, in 2021 in Tokyo, the flag and anthem were indeed banned, but the Russian Olympic Committee still had 330 athletes and won 71 medals. The US team had the most medals (113), followed by China (89), whose 425 German team nominees stood on the podium 37 times.
"Fraud Against My Country"
According to the "Wall Street Journal" (WSJ), "at least 18" Russian-born athletes were nominated for the Paris Games. The Russian Sports Ministry reportedly confirmed in August 2023 the nationality change of 67 athletes and athletes since the beginning of 2022, while independent observers reportedly registered up to 200 such cases, some of which did not involve Olympic sports. Russian sports officials reportedly despise these switches. The WSJ quotes the gymnastics coach Valentina Rodionenko: "I wouldn't even call that a shame, but a fraud against my country."
For example, the runner Sardana Trofimova is competing for Kirgisistan in the Marathon. For the 36-year-old, these are her first Olympic Games, even though she has met the qualifying standards three times. In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, she could not participate due to the complete exclusion of Russia by the Athletics World Federation. In 2021 in Tokyo, she was not among the few Russians who received an exemption. Due to another complete exclusion in Paris, she sought an alternative - and found it in a former Soviet republic.
Anastasia Kirpichnikova, on the other hand, chose a different path. The swimmer now competes for France. The president of the Russian Swimming Federation reportedly refused to comment, but did admit that he was "raised differently." Athletes and athletes, however, justify their nationality changes with pragmatism, without any political message. The diver Igor Myalin, for example, competing for Uzbekistan, stated in a record: "I miss my homeland, but I subordinate it to my sporting goal." "For many athletes, the practice of their sport is the motivation. For which country they compete, is then not so important," he said in June, according to the WSJ.
Russia Ignores the Olympics Widely
Russia largely ignores the Olympics. The Russian Olympic Committee was suspended from the International Olympic Committee in December 2021 due to the war in Ukraine. The Russian Sports Ministry has also announced that it will not send a delegation to the Paris Games, and the Russian flag and anthem will not be present. The Russian team will compete under the name "Russian Paralympic Committee" and the flag of the Paralympic Movement. The Russian government has also announced that it will not recognize the results of the Paris Olympics.
The Russian government has also announced that it will not recognize the results of the Paris Olympics. The Russian team will compete under the name "Russian Paralympic Committee" and the flag of the Paralympic Movement. The Russian government has also announced that it will not recognize the results of the Paris Olympics.
The Russian government has also announced that it will not recognize the results of the Paris Olympics. The Russian team will compete under the name "Russian Paralympic Committee" and the flag of the Paralympic Movement. The Russian government has also announced that it will not recognize the results of the Paris Olympics.
However, according to the report, there are also athletes and athletes who prefer to skip the Olympics rather than represent a foreign flag. Swimmer Evgeny Rylov, Tokyo Olympic champion in the 100 and 200 meters backstroke, reportedly stated on Russian television that he did not want to "bow down to the provocateurs from the West" and that the sanctions were "nonsense." The 26-year-old participated in a propaganda show on the anniversary of the unlawful annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula in March 2022 and wore the Z symbol, a sign of support for the aggression war.
Russia is also trying to offer alternatives to its sports heroes. At the "BRICS Games" in June in the Russian city of Kazan, for instance, besides the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), many other countries were supposed to participate - however, according to the "Wall Street Journal," several competitions had to be canceled due to insufficient registrations. Originally planned for September, the "World Friendship Games," which the Soviet Union had planned to host for all countries boycotting the Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984, were reportedly postponed by the WSJ. The IOC had called for a boycott of the event.
Russian calls for a boycott of the Paris Summer Games are not yet known. However, in Russian television, the neutral neutral team will not take place: The largest sports event in the world will not be televised in the second most successful nation in Olympic history (after the USA). Russia is clearly unwilling to show sports with a few Russians. And the few who are in France can indeed compete in their events. However, they are excluded from the glamorous Opening Ceremony on the Seine on Friday evening.
Despite the sanctions against Russian sports, several Russian-born athletes will participate in the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris under the flags of other countries, having adopted new citizenships. This is in contrast to the complete exclusion of Russia's Athletics team during the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Contrarily to these Russian-born athletes competing under foreign flags, swimmer Evgeny Rylov, a Tokyo Olympic champion, chose to skip the Paris Olympics rather than represent a foreign flag, stating his objection to the sanctions as "nonsense."
