Headline : The Olympic question

Read more from the original article on here at www.ips-journal.eu.

---

No. of Paragraph 15

In Ukraine, the issue of participation in the Olympic Games in Paris should individual representatives of Russia and Belarus be admitted to them, albeit in a neutral status, has been heatedly and emotionally discussed, which in itself is not surprising.

While the warm relations between the International Olympic Committee (IOC), its president Thomas Bach and Moscow until 2022 can neither be forgotten nor unnoticed. It is also the case that, Ukrainian society even before the full-scale war demonstrated a tendency for heated discussions driven by emotions, and the constant tragedies of the last two and a half years have intensified them many times over. Therefore, it is not surprising that the sports authorities in Kyiv for some time adhered to a clear position: Ukrainian athletes should categorically not be present at the same competitions with Russians and Belarusians. This position was corrected at the end of July 2023, when the Ministry of Youth and Sports issued an order that Ukrainians can still compete in the same tournaments with Russians and Belarusians, competing under a neutral flag.

The change of position came not least due to pressure from a large part of the Ukrainian sports community, which considered a full-fledged boycott a shot in the foot rather than a rational position. Kyiv could not agree to the participation of athletes who openly supported the war against Ukraine and Vladimir Putin's policies under any circumstances. There was no such question. But a complete ban on the participation of all Russians and Belarusians, including, for example, some tennis players who compete in an emphatically individual sport and often have long lived abroad, was never a truly realistic option that was really on the table.

The case of the fencer Olga Kharlan, who refused to shake hands with the Russian Anna Smirnova on the very first day after the new order of the Ministry of Sport and was therefore excluded from the World Championships, thus winning the sympathies and hearts of many sports fans all over the world, showed in all clarity: If you take away the opportunity to represent Ukraine with decency at one of the most important sporting events during the war, this would have rather detrimental effects and would mean that Ukraine would lose opportunities.

Read more from the original article on here at www.ips-journal.eu.

Related Headlines : The Olympic question (in Google.com):

Hello, below you have a "Web" tab to read more content and an "Image" tab to get related pictures

Example : Trends, Country, News, Jobs, Scholarships, Investment, Business, Politics, Adverts, Fashion, Events, Technology and more.