On April 15, a online press conference was held with the participation of the President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Stanislav Pozdnyakov. He answered pressing questions, which mainly related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the world of sports. The central theme was the transfer of the Olympic Games in Tokyo from 2020 to next summer, which was an unprecedented move by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Pozdnyakov told why it was hard for those who made this decision.
“Despite the fact that the IOC was subjected to individual criticism from athletes, all the main participants in the Olympic movement were aware that deploying or stopping such a machine as the Olympic Games was a very big event. The organizing committee has invested a lot of money in the Olympics. Japan was preparing very seriously for this event. The decision to postpone should have been made exclusively with the Japanese side. The support of the leaders of the leading countries and the host country, which took on most of the economic difficulties, fell on one side of the balance, while athletes turned out to be on the other - the basis of the Olympic movement, whose interests should mean much more than various political and economic issues ” - said Pozdnyakov.
The head of the ROC said that it was impossible to cancel the Olympics in any case. He remembered how he was impatiently waiting for the opportunity to speak at the main starts of the four-year anniversary. Failure to compete would mean that mankind surrendered to the coronavirus.
“I am an athlete who participated in many Games. I always had a dream to participate in them and win. When I went to Barcelona, 19 years old, that was one story. When I was already finishing my career in 2008, it was completely different. My dream was to achieve the goal in the sport of the highest achievements. The decision to simply cancel the Games would simply kill the dream of tens of thousands of athletes. 11 thousand participants are going to speak, and there are three times more applicants for this. Many believe to the last that they can pass the selection. With one stroke of a pen, killing a people's dream is at least inhumane. The decision to reschedule the competition is balanced and logical. We do not sign our helplessness before a pandemic, before this terrible phenomenon in our lives. As Bach said, we will see the light at the end of the tunnel, ”the ROC president recalled.
At the moment, athletes around the world are worried about what will happen to the already won quotas for the Olympic Games and whether they will be redistributed again. Pozdnyakov said that the IOC has a strict position on this issue - it is impossible to force athletes to re-qualify for participation in the Olympics.
“About 57% of the licenses have already been won. The federations will retain them and hold additional qualification tournaments that did not take place this year. Also, those rating points that were won earlier remain. To them will be added those results that were not obtained now. The IOC calls on federations to retain licenses that have already been allocated. In those sports where it is no longer possible to conduct additional competitions, the IOC wants to add quotas based on international ratings. The committee gave three weeks to this work, although it is unlikely that it will be completed during this time. I am sure that justice in relation to athletes and organizations that have invested in training will be achieved. Our athletes confidently qualified to the point where the competition was suspended. I have no doubt that we will get the remaining licenses and speak in full force next year, ”said Pozdnyakov.
Due to the postponement of the Olympic Games for a year, athletes have to change preparation plans for them, and this will inevitably lead to additional costs. Pozdnyakov said that the ROC has already found funds for additional funding for representatives of summer sports.
“We were able to regroup our financial resources in a short enough period to create the opportunity for sports federations to have the most comfortable conditions for performances. OCD allocated 267 million rubles additionally to support the programs of our athletes. This money was found through the optimization of our own resources and in no way affects the preparations for Beijing-2022. Support will be directed directly to the federations. All their foreign specialists are paid from the budget of the ROC. The consequences of the pandemic affect the economy of the country, and some of our expenses are rising, as they are inherent in the currency. This is not only the salaries of trainers, but also material and technical equipment. We do our best to ensure that athletes receive the highest quality and most modern equipment. Progress does not stand still, and every four years even the most basic sports equipment change, ”said Pozdnyakov.
The ROC also intends to support Russian sports federations by refusing to levy rent on them for placement in the committee building. Although this will lead to additional costs, OCD believes that in the current difficult situation, they must be addressed.
“We are almost two months to terminate lease agreements with organizations that are located in the building of the ROC. We bear direct costs, but we understand that in the present conditions, the manifestation of solidarity is important. If somewhere we can help and redistribute the funds in order to facilitate the work of the federations, then we will definitely do it, because in a month and a half, I believe that these funds will be needed to start work. My colleagues and I are now making this decision, and I have no doubt that it will be supported. These are additional costs, but we are an organization responsible to our partners. We do this not reluctantly, but with pleasure, because we believe that in very difficult situations partnering with each other is the best demonstration of the ideals of the Olympic movement, ”said the head of the ROC.
The coronavirus pandemic not only delayed competition around the world, but also made it impossible to hold hearings at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) at the original deadline. Pozdnyakov assured that the ROC still intends to seek the right for Russian athletes to represent their country at the Olympic Games.
“We have always said that OCD will uphold the inconsistency of sanctions proposed by the WADA Executive Committee. For us, the priority is the right of Russian athletes, along with all participants in the Olympic movement, to fly under their national flag and have equal access to participate in the Olympic Games. We declared this immediately after the announcement of the results of the WADA executive committee. Our position has since only strengthened. There are no complaints against OCD from either the IOC or WADA. We hope that the position of the CAS arbiters will be balanced. We did some serious work on the bugs and got stronger from the previous crisis of 2018. The CAS decision should reflect the spirit of the Olympic movement, which makes it possible for every athlete to participate equally, ”said Pozdnyakov.
The head of the ROC at the same time drew attention to the fact that now the world community has no right to accuse Russia of insufficient testing for doping. This process was interrupted around the world, while before the pandemic, the verification of Russian athletes was at a high level.
“Today, the doping testing system is paralyzed. When colleagues say that they do not have confidence in Russian sport, since athletes cannot be tested accordingly, I remind you that we are the most tested country in the world. This can be said with confidence. At the same time, we will not see the test results for two to three months, while the work of all anti-doping agencies in the world is paralyzed, ”Pozdnyakov recalled.