Alexander Tikhonov, a four-time Olympic champion in biathlon, said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) offer to Russian athletes was an insult to a great power. He shared his opinion with him RIA News.
“The IOC’s proposal is a humiliation of a great power. Can we go without a flag? Who are you? Who do you belong to? I experienced this in 1980, where I was the guest of honor. After that, we didn’t know if we would go to the next Olympics. The question was posed like this: Let’s go and prove it!
I carried the flag of the delegation. I was told that I had to bow my head to the president. And the closer I got, the more I thought: “Should I bow the flag in front of some Americans? Nevermind! On the contrary, I raised it even higher. They showed this to Brezhnev, he said: “Well done, Sasha!” They donated everything to me. So only forward,” added Tikhonov.
On December 8, the International Olympic Committee allowed athletes from Russia to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games with neutral status. It was initially reported that eight Russians and three Belarusians received licenses for the Games, but on December 13 the IOC press service corrected this data. Now the organization’s website says that six Russian and five Belarusian athletes have won quotas for the Olympics.
In the same message, the IOC emphasized that “no flags, anthems or any symbols of Russia or Belarus will be flown at the Olympic Games” and “no government officials from Russia or Belarus will be invited to the Games.”
Previously Tarasova named The main problem in the return of Russian athletes.