Ukraine protests against the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the World Cup gymnastics competitions
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine accuses the German Gymnastics Federation of violating the IOC's neutrality rules by allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes who support the war to compete at the World Championships in Germany.
Ukraine accuses the German Gymnastics Federation of violating IOC recommendations on the neutrality of Russian and Belarusian athletes who were admitted to the World Cup. This was reported on the telegram channel of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, UNN reported.
The head of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Matviy Bidnyi, the president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Vadym Gutzeit, and the president of the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation, Oleksandr Sukhomlyn, have asked the German Gymnastics Federation to allow Russian and Belarusian trampoline jumpers who support the war in Ukraine to participate in the World Cup (to be held in Germany in late March).
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In particular, the Ukrainian side is outraged by the fact that Kirill Kozlov, Danil Kazimov, Angela Bladtsev, Yana Lebedeva and Ivan Lytvynovych, who participated in various propaganda events, competed against banners with Russian military symbols and publicly expressed their pro-Russian position, will take part in the competition.
The letter from the Ukrainian sports authority attached evidence of their position. Ukraine also asked to take appropriate measures within its competence to comply with the IOC recommendations on the neutral status of athletes from Russia and Belarus, as well as to prevent the above-mentioned persons from participating in international competitions, including the qualifying tournaments for the 2024 Olympics to be held in Germany.
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The Ministry of Youth and Sports, together with the NOC of Ukraine and the Gymnastics Federation of Ukraine, had earlier appealed to the IOC and the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to reconsider the previous decision to allow Kirill Kozlov, Danil Kazimov, Angela Bladtseva, Yana Lebedeva, and Ivan Litvinovich to participate in international competitions.
