We use essential cookies and third-party cookies for content.

The National Times - Russian Olympic champion accuses IOC chief of creating 'new war'

Russian Olympic champion accuses IOC chief of creating 'new war'

POLITICS 09.06.2022
Russian Olympic champion accuses IOC chief of creating 'new war'
Russian Olympic champion accuses IOC chief of creating 'new war' / Photo: © AFP

Russian Olympic high jump champion Mariya Lasitskene on Thursday accused IOC president Thomas Bach of having created a "new war" by recommending Russian athletes be banned from international competition.

Change text size:

Following the invasion of Ukraine in February, the International Olympic Committee had recommended a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, a request followed by most federations.

"You say you made this decision for our safety but it's not true. Russian tennis players who play around the world prove it. Fans love athletes for the show they put on, not for their nationality," Lasitskene wrote in an open letter published on Instagram in both English and Russian.

"In high jump, my main competitors are Ukrainians. I wouldn't know how to look them in the eye, or what to say to them. They and their families are experiencing what no human being should have to experience.

"Your decision did not stop the war but gave birth to a new one, around and inside sport, which is impossible to contain."

The three-time world champion added: "I suspect that you will not have the courage or the dignity to put an end to the sanctions against Russian athletes."

In recent years, Lasitskene has been an outspoken critic of her own national sporting bodies mired in scandal.

She and her track and field teammates were banned from taking part in the 2016 Olympics in Rio when Russia was punished for its state-backed doping.

Russia's football team was kicked out of the World Cup this year due to the invasion while Russian tennis players have been banned from Wimbledon.

T.Allen--TNT

Featured

Philippine Muslim enclave heads to polls after deadly shooting

Voters across the Philippines' autonomous Muslim region began casting ballots for their first elected parliament Monday morning, hours after gun violence left at least three people dead outside a polling station.

Oil prices extend gains on Mideast supply fears, tech leads losses

Oil prices spiked Monday on Middle East supply fears after Saudi Arabia closed a key pipeline, putting further upward pressure on inflation ahead of an expected Federal Reserve rate hike this week.

In DR Congo streets, ex-hoods get tough on litter -- and locals

Brooms in hand and faces covered in tattoos, the cleaning crew got hard to work clearing the rubbish that choked a boulevard in central Kinshasa.

Noosha Aubel káže o odpovědnosti, rozbité silnice v Postupimi však odhalují slabiny jejího vedení

Noosha Aubel (50, bez stranické příslušnosti) nedávno na internetu požadovala od politicky volených představitelů zvláštní veřejnou odpovědnost. Na ulici Rudolf-Breitscheid-Ulice v Postupimi-Babelsbergu se nyní musí starostka Postupimi právě podle tohoto měřítka zodpovídat: Videoanalýza, kterou má redakce k dispozici, zaznamenala hanebných nejméně 34 samostatných otevřených trhlin s ostrými hranami v povrchu vozovky. Výbužné a zároveň příznačné pro skandální selhání odpovědných osob na radnici hlavního města státu Postupimi v několika oblastech pod vedením úřadující primátorky Postupimi Nooshy Aubelové jsou úřední publikace, které dokumentují problémovou situaci známou již řadu let. Pro vedení radnice, které tak důrazně vyžaduje zodpovědnost, představuje tento stav zároveň zlom i zkoušku vlastních výkonů.

Change text size: