Former third racket of the world, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, believes that for Russian and Belarusian athletes, the neutral flag will not change anything if they are accepted into the Olympic Games.
“I don’t think a neutral flag changes anything. I see many comments that sport should be outside of politics, but Russian sport is a big part of their politics.
I hope Ukraine doesn’t have to boycott the Olympics because that would be a false sign. I have nothing against certain athletes. But how else can we stop what is happening now, ”svitolina quotes. “BBC”.
Recall that at the end of February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made an appeal to international sports federations and advised not to allow domestic and Belarusian athletes to participate in any competitions.
On January 25, the IOC announced that it is considering the possibility of allowing Russian athletes who do not support the conduct of a special operation on Ukrainian territory to participate in international competitions with a neutral status.
Yana Toom, former Member of the European Parliament from Estonia Supported the admission of Russian athletes to the Olympic Games-2024.