LAUSANNE, Switzerland Russia announced on Saturday that ten of its wrestlers, who were awarded neutral slots at the Paris Olympics, will refuse to compete.
The Russian Wrestling Federation said that its executives, coaches, and athletes met and “came to a unanimous decision — to refuse to participate in the Olympic Games.”
The wrestlers would have been the greatest number of Russians in any single discipline competing in Paris under the International Olympic Committee’s Individual Neutral Athlete policy, which allowed some athletes from Russia and its partner Belarus to compete during the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia Says It Won’t Send Wrestlers To The Paris Olympics As Neutrals
The IOC earlier stated that it invited ten Russian wrestlers to the Paris Olympics, and their website lists nine of them as having consented to compete, with one declining.
The IOC waited to respond to a request for comment on Saturday’s announcement by the Russian wrestling federation, whether it believed the wrestlers were under any pressure to decline and whether it would support any wrestler who wanted to compete despite the federation’s desires.
The federation opposed the IOC’s selection of wrestlers to invite. It stated that Russians had qualified for up to 16 slots at the Paris Olympics rather than 10 and that six of those invited were “far from the status of Russian team leaders.” The organization revealed the names of elite Russian wrestlers who did not receive invitations and stated that the Olympic event would be devalued.
“Any sane person understands that the status of the Olympic Games as the most significant sporting event is being questioned, and wrestling competitions without Russian athletes will be incomplete, and the champions will not receive the satisfaction of winning the Olympic tournament,” according to the statement.
The IOC earlier stated that it would only invite Russian and Belarusian athletes who had no ties to the security services or military and had not publicly supported the war. They would compete in neutral clothing, not under their country flag.
Some Russian sportsmen and authorities have welcomed competing in the Paris Olympics under such conditions, while others have called for boycotts. Unlike other Russian sports bodies, the wrestling federation sent athletes to compete in qualifying contests.
Russia Says It Won’t Send Wrestlers To The Paris Olympics As Neutrals
Last Monday, the Russian Judo Federation announced that its board had not sent any participants to Paris. Its statement did not explain what its athletes believed. In an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday, the IOC said it was awaiting a “individual reply” from the judo athletes. The IOC website displays one Russian judo competitor as having accepted an invitation.
As of Sunday, the IOC website identified 23 Russian competitors from seven sports who have accepted invitations to the Paris Olympics, including the wrestlers. Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, is one of six tennis players who the IOC claims have accepted.
SOURCE – (AP)
