The IOC’s decision to authorize Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Olympics under a neutral banner is a “great, great shame for the world of sport”, declared Saturday Ukrainian swimmer Mykhailo Romanchuk, currently in Romania for the Championships. of Europe in a small basin. “The Russians attacked Ukrainian cities, Ukrainian civilians, Ukrainian athletes, Ukrainian sports facilities, and now they are allowed to compete. This is not normal,” he said.
“More than 400 athletes died during this war. And now we’re taking them to the Olympics? If you don’t respect the rules, if you don’t respect world peace, why are you allowed to compete? », asked the double Olympic medalist at the Tokyo Games (silver over 1,500 m, bronze over 800 m). On Friday, the International Olympic Committee authorized Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate under a neutral banner in the 2024 Paris Olympics, after having banned them in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The body imposed strict conditions: only “neutral individual” athletes will be concerned who have been able to overcome the qualification obstacle, do not actively support the war in Ukraine, and are not under contract with either the army or with national security agencies. The International Swimming Federation had already announced in September the reinstatement of Russians from 2024, unlike the athletics federation which still maintains their exclusion.
Romanchuk is not in favor of boycott
“Sebastian Coe (the president of World Athletics) said that until the war was over, there would be no Russians. I like this decision and in my opinion, everyone should do the same,” said Romanchuk, whose wife Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk is the European champion in the triple jump. However, he rejected the idea of a boycott of competitions in which Russians would participate. “I have to do my job. My best job is swimming, representing Ukraine and talking with you, doing a lot of interviews, that’s my job.”
“I therefore warmly thank the men who defend our country. They are not only defending Ukraine, they are defending all of Europe. I have to go swimming. There is nothing else to do. So the best thing to do is to swim to represent my country and that’s what I’m doing,” explained the 27-year-old swimmer. According to the IOC, eleven athletes – eight Russians and three Belarusians – have so far qualified by meeting the neutrality criteria, judged “discriminatory” through Moscow.