(Montreal) The Canadian Olympic Committee said it was “open to exploring” a possible return of Russian and Belarusian athletes for the next Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.
At least that’s what David Shoemaker, CEO and Secretary General of the COC, said in a statement sent to Le Devoir.
“The decision to exclude athletes solely on the basis of their nationality goes against the principles that are at the heart of the Olympic movement,” read the article in Le Devoir. In addition, the COC now says it is ready “to explore a path leading to the inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes (under a neutral banner”).
This position is in line with that of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Last week, the IOC indicated that it was in favor of the presence of the Russian and Belarusian delegations, under neutral banner, during the Paris Olympics in 2024, despite the request of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to exclude them completely from the event.
“The IOC has ignored Russia’s war crimes, saying ‘no athlete should be punished because of their passport’, while Ukrainian athletes continue to be shot because of theirs. I ask all sports leaders on the planet to speak out on this issue,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter last week.
The day after the announcement by the Lausanne-based organization, Russia and Belarus were officially invited to the Asian Games, a key event towards Olympic qualification.
The COC’s position clashes with that of the Canadian government, which quickly denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In fact, Ottawa recently joined the movement in the West to send combat tanks to Ukraine.
The former Olympic hard worker Jean-Luc Brassard did not fail to underline the difference of position of the government compared to that of the COC in an interview granted to 98.5 FM Thursday morning.
“On the one hand, we have (Minister of Foreign Affairs) Mélanie Joly who is trumpeting loud and clear that Canada is with Ukraine. We’re taking sanctions against the (Russian) oligarchs, we’re going out of our way to help Ukraine, but we’re going to leave the most beautiful showcase to the oppressor — Putin and his gang of dictators — so that he has all the reflectors on him,” said Brassard, Olympic gold medalist and ex-COC member, at the microphone of Paul Arcand.
Brassard also recalled Russia’s poor track record — which he called a “rogue state” — in terms of doping. He notably underlined that Russia was punished following the revelations surrounding the institutionalized doping scandal.
The 50-year-old ex-worker, however, pointed out that there are rules limiting the ability of the Canadian government to interfere in the decisions of the COC.
“The Minister (Joly) could pick up the phone and warm the ears of the COC, but she has no power. We saw it recently with the scandal at Hockey Canada: the Minister (of Sport, Pascale St-Onge) could call, cut the organization’s funding, but that’s all she could do because the regulations do not allow him to have a deep right of scrutiny and the ability to change things,” he explained.
A range of reactions
Elsewhere on the planet, reactions to the IOC’s decision vary from country to country.
The new President and CEO of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) reiterated his organization’s support for exploring a path leading to the inclusion of neutral Russian and Belarusian athletes (under banner) at the Paris Games. However, he recalled that the current sanctions against Russia must be maintained.
Gene Sykes, who replaced Susanne Lyons as head of the USOPC on 1er January, wrote a letter to athletes and others in the field last week following the IOC’s announcement. Russia and Belarus have also been excluded from most international competitions that include sports on the Olympic program due to the invasion of Ukraine.
“Having heard from many athletes and players in the field from across the United States, we recognize a real desire to compete against the best athletes from all over the planet — provided, of course, that a safe environment can be ensured. and fair,” Sykes wrote in a letter copied to The Associated Press.
On Wednesday, Latvia said it will consider boycotting the Paris Olympics in 2024 if athletes from Russia and Belarus are granted permission to participate, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While some European governments, including that of Latvia, have condemned the International Olympic Committee’s decision to open the door to the possible participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus, and Ukraine has threatened to boycott OJ, it is different for the National Olympic Committees.
The exit of the COC, an entity independent of the Canadian government, was therefore foreseeable according to Brassard.
“I wanted with all my heart that he (the COC) let go of the IOC’s line on this, because — it’s a known fact — the COC is just a mouthpiece for the IOC. […] But I would have liked Canada to stand up, to assert itself,” he concluded.
With Eddie Pells, Associated Press