MOSCOW, Aug 5, Andrey Simonenko. The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, is duplicitous when he declares the need to remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions for their own safety, says Olympic high jump champion Maria Lasitskene. The IOC, against the backdrop of events in Ukraine, recommended international federations not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete. Most federations have accepted this recommendation. Bach has repeatedly stated that the suspension is not a sanction, but a measure to ensure the safety of athletes from Russia and Belarus. «Bach's duplicity is that he says that it is dangerous for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, but we see that tennis players travel around the world and everything is calm everywhere. We put the British out of the picture. So let him just tell the athletes — you are Russians, you are all responsible for what is happening. And you are being punished for this. But you don’t need to tell the athletes that they are suspended for their safety. Why fidget?» — Lasitskene said in an interview. “Everyone already understands that all this is due to the fact that I am from Russia. And this is the main message of my letter to Bach. Tell it like it is. we are all to blame,” added the Olympic champion. Read the full interview with Maria Lasitskene on the website rsport.ria.ru.
