MOSCOW, August 15, Andrey Simonenko. President of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation Irina Viner expressed the hope that the statement of the author of the report on the results of the investigation of anti-doping rule violations in Russian sports, Richard McLaren, about the unfairness of the current suspension of Russians from participation in international tournaments will be heard and Russian sports will return to the international arena. In February, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) against the backdrop of events in Ukraine recommended that international federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete. A number of international federations accepted this recommendation and excluded Russians and Belarusians from competitions under their auspices. McLaren, in an interview with Sportschau, said that «the athletes did not start the conflict and are not responsible for its course, these are two good reasons to allow them to compete again.» Such a statement is nice, whether it will affect something or not — I don’t know , after all, now McLaren does not hold any posts, he is on a well-deserved rest, and when he was in power, he spoke very harshly about Russian sports. The associations in his statement are correct. Athletes are out of politics, they should compete in international competitions, «- Viner said. «Let's hope that the statement of such an authoritative person will be heeded and Russian athletes will be given back the opportunity to compete in international competitions and the Olympic Games, then we will not have to look for any alternatives, which could ultimately destroy the entire Olympic movement,» she said. agency interlocutor.
