Fencing reintegrates Russians and Belarusians into its competitions a year and a half before the Olympics

Russian and Belarusian shooters will therefore be able to take part in the world circuit events, qualifying for the 2024 Olympics (July 26-August 11), which begin in early April 2023 without prejudging their participation in the event.

Fencing thus becomes the first sport to reintegrate athletes from both countries under a neutral banner, one year after their exclusion due to the war in Ukraine.

The decision of the FIE, which concerns the individual and team events, nevertheless leaves the hand to the IOC since it will be effective from April 2023 "subject to possible future recommendations / decisions of the IOC", a-t-t -we learned from a national federation that took part in the extraordinary congress.

The members of the FIE, meeting in an extraordinary congress in Lausanne on Friday, voted about 65% in favor of the return of the athletes, teams and officials of the two countries, according to this source not wishing to be identified.

"First step"

"The first step has been taken. I am grateful to the colleagues from foreign federations", welcomed Ilgar Mamedov, the president of the Russian Fencing Federation, quoted by the Ria Novosti press agency.

"There is only one reservation, the reinstatement will not take place before mid-April," he said.

For its part, the Ukrainian Federation reacted in a press release: "We are deeply shocked and outraged by this decision and we immediately convene a meeting of the Presidium to decide on our response to the decision of the FIE and its possible appeal".

“During the weekend, we will consult with members of the Federation, athletes, coaches, the National Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sports,” added the Ukrainian organization.

Before this vote, the Ukrainian Federation had made a request to exclude from the agenda the subject of the reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian athletes, but its request had not received the necessary votes among the 136 voters.

The international body had to position itself due to the imminent start of the qualifying phase for the Paris Olympics, which will run until spring 2024, with eight World Cup stages, a European championship and a world championship allowing them to accumulate points until March 31, 2024, before additional events by geographical area.

This complex system, which results in an individual and team ranking, makes collective performance particularly important: for each weapon (sabre, foil and epee) and gender, the four best nations, as well as four others qualified per continent, can thus compete. line up at the Olympics.

European hostility

The Russian shooters, among the best in the world, had won three gold medals (eight in total) at the Tokyo Olympics, while competing under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee.

The world ranking is therefore upset for the time being by the absence of some of its biggest names, who will have the opportunity to replace themselves before the Paris Olympic meeting in the summer of 2024, if the IOC authorizes their arrival.

Their return to competition poses a first milestone for the participation in the Games of the two delegations while the hostility to their return comes mainly from Europe, in particular from the traditional allies of Kiev such as Poland and the United Kingdom.

The Olympic Council of Asia has already offered to reinstate them, and the African Olympic Committees voted last Saturday for their participation in the Paris Olympics, while the IOC's position remains unclear, a year after a clear "recommendation" of exclusion. Russians and Belarusians in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.

Asked Friday by AFP, the IOC did not respond.

Fencing adds an additional factor to this geopolitical balance of power: that of Russian influence within the bodies, since the FIE was led for 14 years by the oligarch Alicher Ousmanov, who left the interim to the Greek Emmanuel Katsiadakis.

© 2023 AFP