MOSCOW, July 30, Andrey Simonenko. The participation of strong foreign athletes is expected in 2025 at the high jump tournaments organized by the Olympic champion in this discipline Maria Lasitskene, said the director of the «New Height» competitions Mikhail Butov.
Maria Lasitskene's «New Height» tournaments will be held on August 3 in Moscow and on August 31 in the homeland of the Olympic champion — in Prokhladny (Kabardino-Balkaria).
«If nothing is done, nothing will change,» Butov said, answering a question about whether the participation of foreign athletes in «New Heights» could affect the position of Russian track and field in the world. «Any format, any option. I want to attract foreigners to the «Battle of the Sexes,» to create international teams, not just by gender. It seems to me that such local options can produce results.»
«Speaking at the federation level means speaking, as it happens, at the political level. And this will not yield results,» Butov continued. «That is why we are trying. I have held many negotiations abroad. I will name names when it comes down to it. There is no denial of the possibility of coming to tournaments in Russia. And I really hope that we will be successful on this path.»
Butov noted that we are talking about the strongest athletes in the world. «Now there are the Olympic Games, then the Diamond League final, which are mandatory for high-level athletes. Therefore, we did not set such a task — to invite foreigners right now, but next year we will do this work, we are sure that it will be effective. There is no point in inviting weak athletes, high jump is a very strong sport for us, so we will invite strong athletes,» Butov told journalists.
According to the tournament director, there are plans to expand the geography of its holding. «We found a place in Nizhny Novgorod, we are thinking about St. Petersburg, about Lipetsk. We are also thinking about competitions abroad, this is a longer and more difficult prospect, but we are trying. We are trying to take care of Russian athletes. We know that participation in international competitions is difficult for Russian athletes, we hope that we will be able to do this,» Butov concluded.