The Ukrainian Canadian Congress joins its voice to that of the Federal Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge, to denounce the possibility of seeing Russian and Belarusian athletes take part in the 2024 Olympic Games (OG) in Paris.
In a letter sent to the president of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), Tricia Smith, last Friday, the national president of the Congress, Alexandra Chyczij, is clear: by letting the Russian and Belarusian athletes participate in the next Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee would promote “war, murder and destruction”.
It thus joins the position of the federal Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge, who proved the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) wrong last week.1. The CEO and Secretary General of the COC, David Shoemaker, had then indicated a few hours earlier that the organization was not closed to the idea of these athletes participating in competitions under their banner, thus rallying to the position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to participate in international sports competitions”, had decided Pascal St-Onge, in a statement sent to The Press. “We continue to show our solidarity with Ukraine, and I encourage the international sports community to do the same,” she added.
History lessons
In her letter, National Congress President Alexandra Chyczij then cites the case of Nazi Germany where the 1936 Olympics were held. [Le Congrès] hopes the IOC will reflect on the lessons of history and the ignominy that hung over its decision to allow Adolf Hitler’s Germany to host the 1936 Olympics”.
She then urged the COC to boycott the next Olympic Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes were to be there, “an event that would reflect neither Canadian values nor the spirit that should be expected of these international athletic competitions”.
The news comes as a young Ukrainian decathlon champion, Volodymyr Androschuk, was reported to have died in a battle not far from the besieged town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Twitter account. .
“This young athlete and true hero could have participated in the Olympic Games in Paris, if Russia had not invaded Ukraine. Why would Russian athletes have this privilege, ”one can read under the photo of the deceased.
Hypocrisy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week denounced the “hypocrisy” of the IOC and attacked its boss, Thomas Bach, brandishing at the same time the threat of a boycott of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“I invite Mr. Bach to Bakhmout [ville assiégée de l’est de l’Ukraine] so that he can see with his own eyes that neutrality does not exist. It is obvious that any neutral flag of Russian sportsmen is stained with blood,” added the leader, who is said to have pleaded his case with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from most international competitions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the international federations having followed the IOC’s “recommendation” to this effect.
With Mélanie Marquis, La Presse