Russia on Tuesday put a pair of fencers on its wanted list it accuses of taking part in the American championships without Moscow's consent, while the participation of Russian athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics is up for debate.
Two cards appeared in the Interior Ministry's wanted database for Sergey Bida and his wife Violetta Brida, both fencers who left Russia for the United States after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
The couple is being sought “under an article of the penal code,” the ministry said, without specifying what allegations were made against the two fencers.
Sergey Brida is a team silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Violetta Khrapina is a team silver medalist at the 2019 Budapest World Championships. The couple lives in California.
According to the state news agency TASS, Sergey Brida is an officer in the Russian National Guard and an active military member, and the couple had to obtain permission from Russian sports authorities before taking part in the US championships.
Last week, the International Olympic Committee allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in the 2024 Paris Olympics (July 26-August 11) under several conditions: under a neutral banner, excluding team competitions if they did not actively support the Russian offensive in Ukraine and whether they have cleared the qualification hurdle.
So far in this case there are only eleven, eight Russians and three Belarusians, against around sixty Ukrainians, according to the IOC.
However, several Russian athletes have left the country to compete in foreign championships.