The situation around the upcoming Olympics in Paris and the participation of Russians in it is becoming increasingly heated. In its first release on the conditions for admission of Russian athletes to the 2024 Games, the IOC emphasized that it trusts international federations and reserves their right to issue neutral status to athletes in accordance with the recommendations. 

However, at the beginning of 2024, everything changed. At a meeting of the organization's executive committee, held on March 19, it was decided to create a special commission of three people, which included IOC Vice President Nicole Hevertz, two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol and Olympic table tennis champion Yoo Seung Min. The task of this structure is to check candidates for participation in the Olympics from Russia and Belarus for compliance with all the criteria announced by the IOC.

Russian wrestlers were among the first to feel the start of the commission’s work. On Friday, April 5, the European qualification for the Games in Paris starts in Baku, but two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulayev, who has been one of the leaders of the national team for many years, will again not be able to take part in it. In addition to gold in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, he has five victories at the world championships.

And if Sadulaev did not make it to the February European Championship for a conditionally explainable reason (he was not allowed into Bucharest due to problems with a visa), now everything is extremely transparent. The IOC blocked Abdulrasheed from wrestling at the qualifying event, despite protests from the United World Wrestling (UWW). And only thanks to good relations with the international federation, the athlete was able to be replaced with Alikhan Zhabrailov in the shortest possible time. This is important, since the tickets to the Games that will be won in Baku are not personal.

“After another pseudo-check, the International Olympic Committee published new lists of those not allowed to participate in international competitions. Unfortunately, they included two-time Olympic winner, captain of our team Abdulrashid Sadulaev. Alas, even if Sadulaev comes to Baku, he will not be allowed to compete: in “Athena” (internal registration system for wrestlers. -

RT

) he has a ban from the IOC... I want to emphasize: the decision to not allow Sadulaev was made by the IOC, UWW on the contrary, he did everything possible to make Sadulayev fight,” the official website of the federation quotes FSBR President Mikhail Mamiashvili as saying.

Formally, the IOC, based on all the recommendations, had at least two reasons not to give Sadulaev neutral status: he continues to play for Dynamo, and in March 2022 he participated in a rally-concert at Luzhniki. And the organization took advantage of this. Therefore, as RT columnist Elena Vaitsekhovskaya noted, one should hardly be surprised by such a decision.

“When it comes to a profession, it’s probably more correct to be able to calculate your own actions and possible consequences. Just like in wrestling, by the way: if they put you on the ground, the likelihood that your opponent will “roll” you and you will lose points immediately increases sharply. And with them, perhaps, a medal. Perhaps the Olympic one,” Vaitsekhovskaya wrote in her Telegram channel. — In this case, I’m talking about the situation with two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulayev, who has already been completely deprived of the chance to go to the Games in Paris and fight for a third gold there. Do I feel sorry for the athlete? Crazy. Am I surprised? Never".

At the same time, according to two-time Olympic biathlon champion Svetlana Ishmuratova, other athletes also do not need to expect leniency from the IOC.

“It has already been said: athletes “in uniform” will not be allowed to participate in the Olympic Games... Even if we assume that Abdulrashid was given the opportunity to come to the competition, he would have to sign vile papers. I don’t think he would do this,” a representative of the CSKA society told Match TV.

Moreover, as it turned out, not only Sadulaev, but also a number of other wrestlers of the national team had serious problems with participation in the qualifications.

“Questions about Musa Evloev, Sergei Kutuzov and Sergei Stepanov - two-time Russian champion. I don’t yet have any clear position on why and on what basis a group of “comrades” makes a decision to not admit them. This lack of start - every wrestler knows what this entails. Plus head coaches Gogi Koguashvili and Khadzhimurat Gatsalov, who are still traveling as tourists. These issues require resolution,” Mamiashvili told TASS. 

Two more athletes are under threat of being banned by the IOC: Olympic champions Zaur Uguev and Zaurbek Sidakov. Both, like Sadulaev, were present at the rally-concert in 2022, and they play for Dynamo and CSKA, respectively. However, the wrestlers did not go to Baku for qualification, so the commission may simply not have checked them.

Now the federation is formulating its position and arguments in defense of Sadulayev and other athletes. Despite the ban, Abdulrashid will fly to Baku, since there is still hope to resolve the issue of admission before the start of the competition.

“Unfortunately, we have experience in this direction. I don’t rule out that we will be heard... The existing problems do not give optimism, but they do not exclude the possibility of solving them,” Mamiashvili told the Championship.

It is important to note: the participation of Russians in the qualifying tournament and the presence of four quotas won earlier does not mean that they will definitely go to the Olympics. The final decision on participation in the Games has not yet been made.

“At the moment, all Russian wrestlers are faced with a clear task - to get tickets to the Olympic Games on a sporting basis. And then we will weigh the pros and cons and decide whether to go to Paris,” Mamiashvili added.

Commenting on the situation, the director of the Center for Sports Training of Russian National Teams, Georgy Bryusov, noted that in this way, as before the Olympics in Pyeongchang, rivals simply remove strong competitors with the wrong hands.

“I admit, I did not expect such a decision. Until recently, he believed in sports reasons, sound mind, decency and responsibility of those in power. But no... This is how they clear their pedestals and presidiums, using useful idiots. Well, you also have to go through this, get over it and win. In the meantime, let them live with this vile and cowardly act, feverishly search for and find no justification for it either for themselves or in the eyes of the wrestling world,” Bryusov wrote in his Telegram channel.