On Thursday, the reaction from Russian high-ranking officials to decisions of the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the implementation of the principles of athletes from Russia and Belarus competing in a neutral status at the Olympics in Paris. Perhaps for the first time, a clear signal was heard — if the conditions remain as they are now, then we must go to the Games.
The main stumbling block remained the clause on signing an agreement to comply with the conditions of participation in the Olympics. On the one hand, no one will object to the thesis about the peaceful mission of the Olympic Charter, which is indicated there, but on the other hand, the same document contained a clause stating that the signatory would be obliged to agree to additions that could be adopted later. Stanislav Pozdnyakov, President of the Russian Olympic Committee, explained how this could threaten athletes — problems with Russian legislation.
That's why the country's sports leadership has refrained until today from making clear recommendations — whether our athletes should go to the Games in Paris or not. But this week, at a press conference after the first day of work of the IOC Executive Committee, one of the organization’s leaders, James McLeod, answering the question whether Russian athletes would need to condemn the CBO in order to travel to Paris, said: they will not require additional declarations to participate in the Games.
And after that, on Thursday, perhaps the first concrete statement appeared from the highest-ranking official in Russia on this topic — namely from the country's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko — clarifying the position of the leadership. “The assessment of the Olympics should be made by the athletes themselves. If the International Olympic Committee officially confirms that such conditions are being lifted when athletes who are allowed by the international federation must condemn the SVO, renounce their homeland, I think that there will be no legal obstacles for athletes to go, then will not happen,» he noted. “But the IOC has created such conditions that practically none of the Russian athletes can go and qualify. There are only a few sports left whose representatives can still go, but this will be decided by the international federations and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC ) together. If there is an opportunity to take part, then we probably should go.»
This statement, however, also contains uncertainty. The ROC, as is known, has been removed from its functions, and judging by the statements of IOC President Thomas Bach, which he voiced on Wednesday, they are not going to make compromises in Lausanne. The IOC is waiting for actions from the Russian side, but by definition there cannot be any — at least those that would lead to the immediate restoration of the functions of Stanislav Pozdnyakov’s department. So OCD is unlikely to be able to solve anything — on its own or with someone else.
However, the essence of Dmitry Chernyshenko’s statement is still clear. If athletes are not required to sign documents with theses unacceptable to them, the Russian authorities will not object to their participation in the Olympic Games.
Of course, no one disputes the discriminatory nature of all other conditions set by the IOC, and Chernyshenko also said this. “I no longer know how to characterize this in decent words: they don’t know what to come up with,” noted the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. “What will happen next is no longer clear. They are trying in every possible way to create conditions that are unacceptable for our athletes. We are at different times with different situations (faced), but it never came to this. This suggests that the international system of sports management is sick and biased and works to please the political interests of a limited number of countries.»
And, definitely, the words “must go” in no way mean “must go.” These are different things — and the Russian sports leadership has already stated that those athletes who refuse to undergo the “neutralization” procedure will be supported. They will have the opportunity to perform under their own flag, and not under the turquoise flag, at both the Friendship Games and the BRICS Games, and if they win, hear the national anthem of their country, and not the dubious quality “song without words,” and also receive decent prize money. Speaking of money, the IOC has not yet received a clear explanation as to whether neutral athletes can once again fit into the Russian sports system after the Olympics, and if so, after what period of time. At the moment, from the wording in the IOC documents, it follows that the Olympians will have to part with both their rate in the Central Sports Center and the prospect of competing at domestic competitions. It is far from a fact that many will agree to this.
But if they agree, it will be their personal choice. And, at a minimum, it became clear that they would not be considered traitors in their own country for this choice. Again, there may be different private opinions on this matter — but we heard the official position today.