The International Olympic Committee did allow Russian athletes to compete in the 2024 Olympics, but not under the Russian flag. They competed as neutral individual athletes and had to prove that they did not support Russia's aggression against Ukraine and had no ties to their country's army. However, as the FT reports , 10 of the 15 Russians allowed to compete violated the conditions. However, in the end, the result of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris was one of the worst for the aggressor country. Instead, Ukrainian athletes won 12 medals and took 22nd place, which was Ukraine's best result at the Olympic Games in the last twelve years.
Apostrophe asked Vadym Gutzait, President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and former Minister of Youth and Sports (2020-2023), about the participation of Russians and Ukrainians in the Olympic Games, as well as how the war affects the preparation of Ukrainian athletes for the competition.
- Does the war complicate the preparation of our athletes for competitions?
- War generally complicates the lives of all Ukrainians. And our athletes are no exception. Therefore, our athletes in general… You know the results of the Olympic Games, you know how many times we raised the flag, you know that the European Youth Festival recently ended, where our team took fourth place in the overall standings, because we won three gold and two bronze awards (held on February 9-16 in the Georgian city of Bakuriani). Therefore, thanks to our Armed Forces, our athletes, our coaches, everyone who works for the development and helps prepare our athletes, they are great, and these results are impressive that during the war Ukraine shows such results.
- Are there any losses among Olympic champions due to the war?
- There are no Olympic ones, but more than five hundred of our athletes and coaches who went to the front have already died, unfortunately, defending Ukraine.
- The IOC did not agree to completely exclude Russians from the 2024 Olympics. Why?
- It was under a neutral flag. They explained that there are a lot of conflicts going on in the world and this conflict is no exception, but still I can't help but say a big thank you to the International Olympic Committee, which suspended Russia and Belarus from international competitions altogether from February 28, 2022. They weren't at any competitions for a year. Then a year later, when the executive board of the International Olympic Committee voted to allow them under a neutral flag, but only under certain criteria and conditions, that they don't help in the war, that they don't participate in any events. That is, there are a lot of such criteria.
- But the media wrote that not everyone responded...
- And I don't pay attention to the media. I know what's going on in the world, who's doing what specifically, not just some...
- So these athletes who were admitted, in principle, do not support aggression?
- So they were allowed at the Olympic Games 15. And at the last Olympics in Tokyo in 21, there were about 350 of them, so that we understand. And they were one of the best in the world in terms of overall standings. And here there were 15, without flags and they didn't win a single medal. Therefore, we can say that it was our victory, that they weren't there at all. And the IOC made it so that, in principle, they didn't pass according to these criteria. Therefore, I want to note that the IOC has really helped us and is helping us for the last three years.
- Please tell me, have there been any cases where Olympic champions left for competitions and did not return?
- There were no Olympic champions or medalists. There was one case when Ilya Kovtun decided to change his citizenship after the Olympics. Unfortunately, he and his coach stayed in Croatia. As far as I know, they decided to change their citizenship.
- Were there any sanctions against them from the NOC?
- They will probably take away all the scholarships that the president has assigned, and then they will look at it.
- Has the legalization of sports betting somehow affected the sports industry, in your opinion?
- I don't follow this direction and I don't know what influences it. We need to develop sports infrastructure, which, unfortunately, is impossible during the war. We need to gather children so that they go to children's and youth sports schools. We need to think about the future. We need to think about this, but I don't know what's happening there about these bets.
- What are the trends in integrity in sports? Is the situation improving?
- Definitely, definitely. The National Olympic Committee, I personally, we are working on this, we have zero tolerance for dishonest actions. Therefore, it is only improving, and we control, we record, we work. And back when I was the minister, I created a platform for integrity in sports and this platform gathers federations every week, every month, we tell what is happening in the world and we control so that they also record some cases, so that we ban them. That is, we are working in this direction.