Russian athlete Mariya Lasitskene, Olympic champion in high jump, on Thursday accused International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach of “creating a new war” by recommending that Russian athletes be banned from international competitions.
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After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the IOC recommended at the end of February that the international federations ban the Russians and Belarusians from their competitions, a request that most authorities followed.
“You say you made that decision for our safety, but that’s not true. Russian tennis players playing all over the world prove it. Fans love athletes for the show they put on, not for their nationality,” the athlete wrote in an open letter in English and Russian on his social media.
“In the high jump, my main competitors are Ukrainians. I don’t know how to look them in the eye or what to tell them. They and their families experience what no one should experience (…) Your decision did not end the war, but created a new one in and around sport that can no longer be contained.
“I suspect that you will not have the courage or dignity to end sanctions against Russian athletes as it would mean that you would admit that you have violated the Olympic Charter for all these months (…), but I ask you to stop attributing the current situation in world sports to “protecting Russian athletes,” she adds.
Mariya Lasitskene, who was crowned Olympic champion in high jump in Tokyo in 2021, is the headliner of Russian athletics and for several years has led the revolt of athletes from her country who denounce their federation’s incompetence on doping.
The three-time world champion (2015, 2017 and 2019) and her compatriots were repeatedly excluded from the competition after the 2016 Olympics prevention as part of sanctions against Russian athletics by the international association (World Athletics).
“In the last seven years, I haven’t been able to compete internationally for almost four years (…) World Athletics uses my passport at every opportunity. You never find fault with that, and now you’re starting your encouragement again,” she rebuked Mr. Bach.
Many of the federations’ expulsion measures have been challenged by the Russian authorities before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which has yet to examine the merits of these complaints.