2023-07-28 10:49:22
Fencer Olga Kharlan delivered, on Wednesday, the first duel between a Ukrainian and Russian athlete (excluding tennis) since the start of Russia’s invasion of her country in February 2022. Her disqualification for refusing to comply with the ritual salute at the end of the match shows that even if Kiev relaxes its policy, it will be a long way to see Ukrainian athletes at the Paris-2024 Olympics.
Published on: 07/28/2023 – 10:49
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It was a first since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A Ukrainian sportswoman was going to face a Russian national. The fencer Olga Kharlan was thus authorized to measure herself against the Russian Anna Smirnova, Thursday, July 27, following a relaxation of the policy of kyiv.
If she outclassed her opponent, she then refused to comply with fair play by saluting her at the end of the match, which earned her a disqualification. An “absolutely scandalous” decision, according to the Ukrainian presidency.
Despite this incident, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sees in this first duel a reason for hope concerning Ukraine’s participation in the Olympic Games: if Kiev authorizes them “to participate in international competitions”, this “will allow them to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Until now, with the exception of tennis where players compete individually and do not represent their country, Ukrainians have been strictly prohibited from taking part in competitions where Russian or Belarusian nationals have entered.
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This decree was modified on Wednesday. The ban now applies to competitions where athletes “representing the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus” line up. Clearly, if they line up under a neutral banner, the objection is lifted.
This provision is in line with the IOC recommendation, taken in March and implemented by several international federations, including fencing (FIE), to reintegrate Russians and Belarusians into world sport, under several conditions including that of the neutral banner. This shift is likely to dissipate the threat of Ukraine’s absence from the Paris-2024 Olympics, a hypothesis that was taking more and more shape with the absences of Ukrainian athletes in several qualifying competitions for the next Olympiad.
A disqualification in question
But the road is still long, as shown by the day of the World Fencing Championships: after her easy victory, punctuated by the “Slava Ukraïni” (Glory to Ukraine) from the stands, Olga Kharlan refused to greet her opponent. She remained seated on the track for a long time in protest, the refusal to salute being liable to disqualification.
In fact, the FIE has excluded from the competition the 32-year-old Ukrainian, quadruple world champion and bronze medalist in London and Rio (2012 and 2016).
“We Ukrainian athletes are ready to face the Russians on the sports field but we will never shake hands with them”, delivered the saber, who thought “to be safe” from any disqualification after having had the ” word” of the Greek President of the FIE, Emmanuel Katsiadakis.
The photo features Anna Smirnova, the Russian fencer who Ukrainian Olha #Kharlan refused to shake hands with at the World Championships after winning a fair bout. As you can see, she openly admires the Russian army, which is killing Ukrainians and destroying our cities. The… pic.twitter.com/je1o94n3OX
— Mykhailo Podolyak (@Podolyak_M) July 27, 2023
The disqualification angered Mikhaïlo Podoliak, a close adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Podoliak tweeted an undated photo of Smirnova making a V for victory with a man in military fatigues: “As you can see she (Smirnova) openly admires the Russian army, which kills Ukrainians and destroy our cities.”
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But the Ukrainians have received support from the IOC, which has called for “sensitivity” towards Ukrainian athletes.
Ukraine has not officially made a decision on whether or not to boycott the Games. “We are waiting for the final decision and whether (the Russians and Belarusians) will be allowed to participate or not,” Ukrainian Sports Minister and President of the National Olympic Committee Vadym Gutzeit told Le Monde on Tuesday.
Russia and Belarus, not invited to Paris
The IOC did not include Russians and Belarusians in the ritual invitation to athletes from around the world to take part in the Games, made Wednesday in Paris. Its president Thomas Bach did not give a timetable for his decision on this point.
Many Ukrainian athletes are increasingly expressing their desire to be at the Games. “I am really proud of our tennis players and I imagine myself in their place, facing the people whose country is bombing and killing our compatriots”, Olga Kharlan had delivered a few weeks ago to AFP, pleading to obtain the authorization to face the Russians.
Fencing was the first sport to reopen the door to Russians and Belarusians in March. Table tennis, canoeing and even rowing had notably followed suit, following the recommendations of the IOC.
In fencing, 30 Russians and 51 Belarusians were granted the status of “neutral individual athlete” in April after their files were examined by an e-reputation company, then by a law firm before the approval of the FIE.
But no big name in the discipline among them: was dismissed, for example, the reigning Olympic saber champion Sofia Pozdniakova, also the daughter of Stanislav Pozdniakov, himself a former saber champion and president of the Russian Olympic Committee.
With AFP
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