Four-time Olympic champion in biathlon Alexander Tikhonov called International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach a toy in the hands of politicians. He shared his opinion with him TASS.
“Bach is a toy in the hands of politicians. I believe that there is no need to award him the Order of Honor after the Olympics in Sochi. But I don’t see any point in depriving him of this reward anymore.
Many believe that the IOC and its president are at the forefront of global discord in world sports. This is a deep misconception. This is the politicians’ job – it will be as they bid Bach do. Americans are running the business now, but it’s high time for us to do this; unfortunately, we are not sufficiently interested in foreign policy,” Tikhonov said.
On October 12, the IOC announced the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice, following the inclusion of the Olympic Councils of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in the Russian organization. The IOC also stated that it reserves the right to make a decision at the necessary time on the admission of Russian athletes to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
At the end of February 2022, the IOC issued a call to international sports federations and recommended that domestic and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to participate in any competitions due to the political situation.
At the meeting of the IOC Executive Committee on March 28, it was proposed to allow the Russians to maintain neutral status if their athletes do not take an active part in supporting military operations. Athletes representing law enforcement agencies and armed forces will not be allowed to compete.
Previously Fetisov statedFor him there is no such thing as IOC and Bach.