Thirteen federations permit Russian athletes to participate in int'l competitions - Russian sports minister
MOSCOW. May 18 (Interfax) - Russian athletes can take part in qualifying competitions for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris in 13 sports for now, Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said.
"There is a little more than a year to go before the Olympic Games in Paris. The situation is difficult and controversial [...] Thirteen federations have permitted our athletes to take part in international competitions, but not all federations have determined these clearance rules: a declaration needs to be signed in some situations, in other situations it is necessary to check athletes' social media pages, to find out whether they are members of sports communities of the army or the Russian Guard [...]. But there are still chances," Matytsin told the Rossiya-24 (VGTRK) television channel on Thursday.
"A majority of federations have not yet decided whether to permit Russians to participate, but they [Russian athletes] have less and less time for participating in the Olympic qualifiers. Some countries are not permitting Russian athletes to compete, are causing difficulties, for instance as far as the issuance of visas is concerned [...] But we are not ready to agree to the terms offered by the International Olympic Committee [IOC]. As the IOC president has said, these terms will be announced in full no earlier than August. And it is making the life of international federations difficult as well," he said.
In the event of a positive outcome, the Russian Sports Ministry hopes to send some 180 Russian athletes to the Paris Olympics.
"Boxers, judokas and tennis players are participating in the qualifying tournaments today. Difficult work is ongoing with regard to others sports," Matytsin said.
The IOC recommended on March 28 that international federations permit Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in competitions on condition that they do not support the special military operation and are not members of army sports societies.
The Olympic Games will take place in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024.