Undermined by an inflammatory statement suggesting its openness to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris Olympics, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) made a clarification: no, it does not want their presence in the French capital at summer 2024, even under a neutral banner.
Just over 500 days from the opening ceremony, the COC does not see how the Russians could fulfill satisfactory conditions to compete in the Paris Games.
“We do not support the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the current conditions,” said Eric Myles, COC’s sports chief, on the sidelines of a press conference Thursday morning in Montreal.
Mr. Myles was responding to a question about articles from The Canadian Press and the daily The duty who reported earlier this month that the COC did not rule out a return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to Paris in 2024.
“We recognize that the decision to exclude athletes solely on the basis of their nationality runs counter to the principles that are at the heart of the Olympic movement,” said David Shoemaker, CEO and Secretary General of the COC, in a written note.
“Thus, we are open to exploring a path leading to the inclusion of neutral Russian and Belarusian athletes who, at a minimum, respect the conditions established by the IOC Executive Board,” he added.
This declaration caused an outcry in the country, including a chronicle punch of the columnist of The Press Philippe Cantin entitled “Dark moment in our Olympic history”.
Many conditions
On Thursday, Myles reiterated that the final decision would rest with the IOC. “We wanted to be sure to express our point of view as a member of the Olympic movement, explained the head of sport. […] There are a whole series of conditions [outre] neutrality if ever it were to happen. »
The COC continues to support an IOC recommendation from February 2022 stating that “athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus should not be invited to participate in international competitions”.
In a statement dated January 25, the IOC Executive Board set out the conditions that athletes holding Russian or Belarusian passports would have to meet to obtain the right to take part in the Paris Games as “neutral” representatives. Not “actively supporting the war in Ukraine” and “fully complying with the World Anti-Doping Code” was one of them.
“The question that follows is this: is David or me, we have good hope that all this will take place and that it will happen? I don’t think so,” said Eric Myles.
The leader pointed out that since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the day after the Winter Games in Beijing on February 24, 2022, the situation “has not changed; on the contrary, it has deteriorated”.
The current situation is not winning, it does not happen, it does not work. With the set of conditions, a development of things, progress in the conflict in a positive way, etc., OK, maybe. But again, it’s not our decision.
Eric Myles, Chief Sport Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee
The day after David Shoemaker’s statement, Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge reiterated the federal government’s position that “Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to participate in international sports competitions.”
“We continue to show our solidarity with Ukraine, and I encourage the international sports community to do the same,” added Mr.me St-Onge in a written note sent to The Press.
Close to “absolute exclusion”
On February 10, the minister took part in a virtual meeting with 34 of her counterparts and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where the vast majority of participants favored an “absolute exclusion” of Russian and Belarusian athletes, according to a Reuters dispatch. .
In the eyes of Eric Myles, the positions of Mme St-Onge and this group of countries are “really close” to those of the COC.
Addressing the ministers, President Zelensky claimed that 228 Ukrainian athletes and coaches died due to Russian aggression.
If there is an Olympic sport with killings and missile strikes, you know which national team would take first place. Terror and Olympism are two opposites, they cannot be combined.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Reuters
Bruny Surin, Chef de Mission of the Canadian team for the Paris Games, sticks to the position of the COC and the IOC, with a firmer touch vis-à-vis Russia.
“It’s about seeing how it will evolve,” said the Olympic champion Thursday. Now, I would also be willing to say, “Listen, Russian athletes, sorry, that’s itwe maintain [l’exclusion]. » »
The ex-sprinter maintains that many elements will have to be put in place in the two rogue countries for him to show openness. “For the moment, there is nothing. So no Russia, no Belarus. »
One thing is certain: the COC opposes a possible boycott of the Olympic Games. “We don’t believe in that,” said the sports chief. We did it for China, we are still in the same position. A boycott of the Games is not an option for us. This is not the approach to progress in this situation either. »
The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
The unique journey of Christine Girard
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Canada’s new chef de mission at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Christine Girard, surrounded by Eric Myles, head of sport for the Canadian Olympic Committee, and Bruny Surin, Canada’s chef de mission at the Paris Olympic Games. On the bar is the total weight lifted by the weightlifter on his way to his gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012… or 236 kg.
Twenty years after discovering a major international multi-sport event at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Olympic weightlifting champion Christine Girard will come full circle as chef de mission of the Panams of Santiago, Chile, from October 20 to November 5.
In the Dominican Republic, Girard had shared a room with her teammate Maryse Turcotte, who had taken part in the Sydney Games three years earlier. This closeness with Olympic athletes had marked her.
“I practically had a notebook and I watched everything: how they eat, how they move, how they train,” Girard recalled when his appointment by the Canadian Olympic Committee was announced Thursday morning. , to Montreal. “It was a really formative experience. »
Occupational therapist by profession and mother of three young children, Girard will have a unique story and journey to pass on to the some 500 athletes she will accompany to Chile next fall.
Not only did she compete in two other Pan American Games in 2007 and 2011, where she won silver and gold respectively, but she also excelled at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, without necessarily reaping the benefits on the cut. The weightlifter from Rouyn-Noranda indeed received bronze and gold medals several years later after the disqualification of rivals convinced of doping by retroactive screening tests.
On her way to her sporting achievements, she trained in her parents’ basement, her uncle’s garage, her grandfather’s barn and a carport…
“I have seen the sport from many different angles throughout my career. It was really the right time for me to give back and share that experience. I was very lucky to have very good heads of mission. I hope I can give back now. »
Christine Girard serves as an education ambassador for the International Testing Agency and a member of the International Weightlifting Federation’s Anti-Doping Commission.