Ukrainians receive clear instructions on dealing with Russians
For Ukrainian athletes, the Olympics, given the war at home, present an extreme challenge. Things are even worse for them, as Russian and Belarusian athletes run into their path in Paris. There is a clear instruction for this case.
Ukrainian Olympic athletes have criticized the participation of Russians and Belarusians as neutral athletes at the Summer Games in Paris once again. "As long as our people are being killed, our houses in Ukraine are being bombed, and our borders are being occupied, Russia has no right to be at the Olympics," said Vadym Hutzajt, head of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee. He was referring to the 15 Russians and 17 Belarusians competing under a neutral flag. Russia as a nation was excluded from the IOC due to the Moscow aggressive war, which is supported by Belarus.
Hutzajt also reported on how his athletes currently behave towards Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Olympic village: "For us, Russian and Belarusian athletes do not exist. We do not greet them, we do not say hello, we don't even look at them." For the approximately 150 Ukrainian Olympic starters, this is an extreme situation. "All Ukrainians in the Olympic village feel the war, have lost relatives or friends."
Fencer Olha Charlan and tennis player Elina Svitolina made headlines in the past few months for refusing to shake hands with Russian opponents. Charlan now criticized that many former Russian athletes had changed their nationality and were now competing for other countries in Paris. "This should be checked much more strictly. There is information that some of them are supporting the war."
Delegation leader Hutzajt emphasized under what extreme conditions his athletes had to prepare. Charlan, for example, comes from Mykolajiv in southern Ukraine, which is constantly targeted by Russian rocket and drone fire. "It's hard to imagine how it is for them to train and compete here, always knowing that bad news from home could come at any time."
Similarly, Ukrainian diver Oleksij Sereda's father went to the military after the start of the war and now fights against Russian aggressors. Ruder Anastassija Koschenkowa told: "It's hard to see your country in the bombing rain, it's hard to see your own child in the bombs. I always think that I would just like to hold him in my arms." In response to the question of whether he advises his athletes to refuse to shake hands with potential Russian or Belarusian opponents during the Olympics, Hutzajt said: "The most important thing is that my athletes do not provoke themselves."
Despite the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris serving as a platform for international sportsmanship, Ukrainian athletes struggle with the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes given their country's ongoing conflict. Vadym Hutzajt, head of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, has voiced strong opposition to their participation, citing the ongoing war and the loss of Ukrainian lives.
