Artur Dalaloyan, the Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics, shared his opinion on the requirements for the admission of Russian athletes to international competitions and the absence of active support to the SVO.
I don’t see how athletes who don’t leave the gym can influence any political process. And vice versa – why should political troubles affect athletes? It’s particularly strange that some international federations require athletes to take sides – say whether you support this or that. I think this is stupid,” says Dalaloyan. “Sport Express”.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) previously reported that the organization is considering the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the Olympic Games, which did not express its active support for the special operation in Ukraine. In addition, athletes from Russia and Belarus must meet some other requirements, including passing a full anti-doping test.
In an interview with Der Spiegel, IOC President Thomas Bach stated that he allowed Russians and Belarusians to participate in the 2024 Games without a flag or anthem, and noted that the IOC does not support discrimination based on nationality.
Oleg Taktarov, formerly a former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, first Russian holder of the Absolute Fighting Championship (UFC) belt shared his opinion About the last fight of Fedor Emelianenko in his career against the American Ryan Bader.