MOSCOW, June 9, Andrey Simonenko. Olympic champion in the high jump, Russian Maria Lasitskene, in an open letter, said that the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, does not have the courage and dignity to cancel the suspension of Russian athletes from international competitions. Previously, the head of the IOC, commenting on the removal of Russian and Belarusian tennis players from Wimbledon, he said that sanctions are unacceptable because «someone just has a passport of a certain country.»
"Mr. Bach, my name is Maria Lasitskene. I am Tokyo 2020 Olympic high jump champion. I'm not sure if you know me, because based on your recent statements and decisions, you are already much closer to politics and further away from athletes and professional sports in general. But I remember very well how you turned a blind eye to the fact that the current IOC member Sebastian Coe did not allow me to the 2016 Games simply because I was born in Russia. Of the last seven years, in total, for about four years I did not have the opportunity to compete at international competitions, although there have never been any complaints against me personally. Except for one thing… The International Association of Athletics Federations pulls a trump card out of its sleeve at every opportunity in the form of my Russian passport. And you let them get away with it. Now they are doing it again, but already directly at your suggestion", Lasickene wrote.
The Olympic champion also responded to Bach's statement that «the rights of athletes who do not support military operations must be respected in accordance with IOC rules and international law».