MOSCOW, February 28, by Sergey Fuks. Recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to prevent Russian athletes from participating in international competitions is politically motivated, but at the same time it is dictated by security considerations for athletes, said the head of the All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics (VFCG) Irina Viner-Usmanova. On Monday, the IOC executive committee recommended that international sports federations not allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in competitions.» This is a complete iron curtain for athletes. It's terrible, politics has completely taken over the sport. The most decent, honest, hardworking people who are a symbol of humanity fall under the political games of our partners and an organization like the IOC. This is not should concern athletes, people who are not involved in this.A ring behind barbed wire — this cannot be. The situation is turbulent. Maybe everything will go back to normal, maybe something will change. The President of the IOC is himself an Olympic champion, he has always favored that politics should not interfere with sports. Such a statement by the IOC hits the image of the organization. Politics should not affect sports, these are the words of Bach, but now his words are violated by this statement,» Viner-Usmanova said. «At the same time, we understand that this is dictated by security considerations for our athletes. They can be discredited, they can be refused to participate in competitions. In this regard, the IOC did the right thing so that there would be no insinuations during international tournaments. Let's hope that politics will change for the better, that Pierre de Coubertin's motto «Faster, higher, stronger!» will again triumph. We understand the concerns of the IOC, because the athletes are affected by the political confrontation,» she added.
