“There has been an awareness of the dead end of the course of the West”: what was said at the expanded meeting of the commission of athletes of the ROC

"Federations suffer colossal losses"

For two days, Luzhniki hosts an expanded meeting of the ROC Athletes' Commission.

It is attended by over 20 champions of the Summer and Winter Games, representatives of federations, as well as guests from the NOC of Belarus.

The main topic of Thursday was the admission of domestic athletes to international competitions.

As ROC head Stanislav Pozdnyakov said, Europe is already feeling the consequences of the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians.

“There are 206 National Olympic Committees in the world, but most of the establishment is represented by the collective West, which imposes sanctions.

Now there has been an awareness of the dead end of the chosen course, and much is being done to get out of the situation.

Because a large number of international federations are suffering enormous financial losses... Almost seven months have passed since the imposition of sanctions.

Although some colleagues try to present them as some kind of defense of the Olympic movement, this is not so.

Any restrictions, any violation of freedom and the opportunity to compete in a fair fight are sanctions ... The world is undergoing global changes, like sports, and the sports movement did not pass this test, ”said the head of the ROC.

The first losses have already been recorded in the International Skating Union, which includes figure skating.

In a financial report published by the organization, it is said that 2.5 million Swiss francs (about € 2.6 million) are set aside to pay off losses from “crisis situations”.

The ISU admitted that the ban on participation in the starts of Russian athletes led to a drop in income.

Thus, the organization missed funds for the sale of media rights to the 2022 World Cup in the Russian Federation.

Similar problems await the International Ski Racing Federation.

According to the FIS report, last season it was in Russia that the most people watched the Cup stages and the World Cup (271 million), Sweden was in second place (164 million), and Norway was only fifth (89 million).

The World Youth Ice Hockey Championship also lacked sponsors and fans.

Four large companies did not cooperate with the organizers at once: Tim Hortons chain of Canadian eateries, Telus telecommunications company, Canadian Tire and Nike, the retail leader.

“Most international sports organizations see the futility of sanctions pressure.

Therefore, there is hope that restrictions will be canceled in the near future.

The prerequisites for this are not only our competitions, which are closely monitored in the West and their sufficiently high level is recognized, but also the position of the Commissions of athletes from different countries, which are an integral part of the Olympic movement,” Pozdnyakov noted.

According to Deputy Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Alexei Morozov, foreign officials are interested in communicating with Russia.

At the same time, international federations are directly dependent on the IOC, and even taking into account financial losses, they are not ready to make decisions on the admission of athletes on their own.

"The IOC ponders the dilemma"

As for the International Olympic Committee, the leadership of the organization is still weighing the situation.

On Wednesday, September 14, Thomas Bach held an online meeting with the IOC Athletes' Commission, where fencer Sofia Velikaya spoke and voiced the problems of Russian athletes.

“She spoke about discrimination, violation of rights, violation of the Olympic Charter.

The fact that everything that is happening now can lead to more serious consequences.

Today our countries are suffering, tomorrow they will be different, and in the future there may simply be no Olympic movement.

Bach voiced all this in his speech.

According to him, this is a dilemma for them, and the decision they made was difficult.

In the future, they will think about how to deal with this dilemma, ”Sofya explained.

Chairman of the Commission of Athletes of the United World Wrestling Arsen Julfalakyan also spoke at the online meeting with the participation of Bach.

According to Velikaya, most members of this organization voted against the removal of the Russians.

“This is a positive development.

A sign that people understand that the mission of sport is to unite, not to divide.

There is a lot of chaos in the world that we do not understand, but sport has always been an outlet, a platform where a person could forget about everything, contact with others, learn new information.

I hope that colleagues from different sports communities will hear us, athletes will hear us and will support us, ”added the two-time Olympic champion.

The fencer also noted that she was not going to end her sports career and wants to speak at the Games in Paris in 2024.

However, according to Pozdnyakov, this will be achieved if the policy of double standards in the IOC stops.

Indeed, during the boycotts, a whole generation of brilliant athletes falls out, and the mistakes of the past cannot be repeated.

“The current head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, in 1980 himself failed to come to the Olympics in Moscow.

The confrontation between the Arab world and Israel is known - therefore, the country today is part of the European continental association.

Unfortunately, many athletes from Arab and Muslim countries do not want to meet athletes from Israel for political reasons.

Athletes who refuse to fight are subject to sanctions.

But why, then, are athletes from Russia and Belarus suspended, with whom representatives of several countries do not want to compete?

We see that a policy of double standards is emerging, the logic of actions should be identical, ”said the head of the ROC.

Pozdnyakov also harshly criticized FIA policy.

The organization requires Russian athletes to sign a paper condemning the SVO.

According to him, it violates all existing norms.

“Of course, we treat this situation with condemnation, rejection, since the main principle of the competition is to provide equal conditions for all athletes.

In this sense, the signing of some piece of paper proposed by the FIA, I can’t call it otherwise, is a violation of this principle.

I consider participation in such competitions unacceptable.

This is the first time we are facing such a situation.

Other federations have not previously applied such conditions, and they cannot present them, ”Pozdnyakov said.

“If there are no sponsors, we will run for medals”

In addition to the plenary session, Luzhniki also hosted a large business program.

Many Olympic champions took part in it: they answered questions and shared their experience.

So, figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva said that she does not consider herself popular, but explained how she manages to maintain media activity.

An important topic for discussion was the attraction of new sponsors.

According to Alexander Legkov, he will communicate with businessmen and ask them to come to skiing.

“Now there is a dense discussion about this.

Guberniev says: we do not have prize money and funds for which the athlete could continue to live.

Vyalbe believes that sponsors should come themselves.

According to Denis Spitsov, he did not particularly get into prizes at the World Cup stages, but here he ran for medals, but this is important and necessary, because there is a salary, and a person lives on it.

It would be great if there was a sponsor for the ski races, this would give additional motivation.

If not, they run for the medals.

We will communicate with businessmen and ask them to join our sport,” said the Olympic champion.

He also expressed his opinion about changing sports citizenship in order to compete in international competitions.

“I hope this doesn’t happen in cross-country skiing.

If we have stories, they are old and not related to the current situation.

Ilya Chernousov married Gasparin and left for Switzerland, ”added Legkov. 

Not going to change citizenship and Nikita Mazepin.

But at the same time, he does not want to condemn anyone for the choice he made.

On the eve of the racer Konstantin Zhiltsov passed under the flag of Israel.

Also for this country now stands the pilot Robert Schwartzman.

“This is a matter of personal considerations.

Whether you want for the sake of sport, and it is more important for you, to abandon your country or not - everyone chooses for himself, but I will not do this, ”said Mazepin.

In addition, according to Nikita, he also saw the paper that he asks the FIA ​​to sign.

“I was one of the first, back in early March, to receive this document and study it very clearly.

Athletes should have the opportunity to be neutral, I am fighting for this, ”the rider emphasized.

At the same time, Olympic medalists Ekaterina Gamova and Sergey Ridzik raised another issue, which turns out to be acute for athletes - lowering the retirement age for athletes.

As an argument, it was stated that professional athletes from an early age train without days off and holidays.

Sophia the Great promised to assist in promoting this initiative.

“This is a good platform where the problems that concern athletes are voiced.

The question was supported by many of those present.

We, as a commission, will help to convey it to the leadership of the ROC and the Ministry of Sports, ”said the fencer.