Last week, news wrote about the Russian high jump profile Marija Lasitskene, who was critical of the competitive situation in her home country. The Lasitskene were negative to the conventions that will replace the prestigious, international competitions – and called the events a “burial ground”. In a letter to IOC President Thomas Bach, the Olympic winner now strongly opposes the exclusion of Russian athletes, claiming that she – and several other athletes – do not support the war against Ukraine. She believes athletes with the same attitude should be allowed to participate in international competitions. – You prefer not to know anything about the opinions of Russian athletes and how athletes live in the wake of the events in Ukraine. If you really cared about the fate of athletes, you would not demand that they talk openly about these events, but rather try to unite the world through sports, the high jumper writes in the letter to Bach. – You chose the simplest solution for you – to suspend everyone due to citizenship, she continues. Reacts to statement The Russian is deeply distressed by the war situation and says that some of her closest colleagues are Ukrainians. – I still do not know what to say to them or how to look them in the eye. They and their friends and relatives experience what no human being should ever have to feel. WANTS CHANGE: Marija Lasitskene has a strong desire to participate in international competitions again. Photo: Matthew Childs / Reuters The 29-year-old’s prayer to the IOC makes, among other things, the Ukrainian high jumper Yulia Levchenko open his eyes. – Do you think that sports are more important than the right to live? You are not allowed to participate because you are Russian? But they kill us just because we are Ukrainians. Do you notice the difference? comments the 24-year-old on the Instagram post of Lasitskene, where she has published the letter to the IOC. The Ukrainian also reacts to what she has experienced as a lack of support from the Lasitskene to Ukraine since the invasion began. Levchenko claims to have given Russian colleagues support earlier without receiving anything in return. The Ukrainian refers, among other things, to the Russians’ previous expulsions, where many practitioners were suspended as a result of the revelation of state-sponsored doping cheating. “But when there was a full-scale invasion on the morning of February 24, I did not hear a word from the Russian athletes,” Levchenko writes. The Lasitskene have not responded to the comment on the Ukrainian athletics profile. RESPOND: Levchenko feels she has not received any support from Russian practitioners since the outbreak of the war. Photo: ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP Dissatisfied Levchenko is one of the Lasitskins’ fiercest competitors. The Russian has been the supreme queen of heights for the past five years. She has picked up all of the World Cup, European Championship and Olympic gold during the period, but due to the war in Ukraine she has not been able to compete internationally against the world elite. – I have no doubt that you do not have the courage and dignity to lift the sanctions against Russian athletes, the 29-year-old writes further in the letter to Bach. Among other things, she believes that a solution could be to compete under a neutral flag, as several Russian tennis players have done. IOC President Thomas Bach. Photo: OGNEN TEOFILOVSKI / Reuters news has been in contact with the IOC about the statements of Lasitskenes, which refers to Thomas Bach’s speech at an IOC conference in Lausanne on 20 May. The IOC still says the same thing they did when the ban came into force. – The security of Russian and Belarusian practitioners and leaders can not be guaranteed due to strong dissatisfaction with Russians and Belarusians in so many countries after the invasion, was something the IOC president said. You can read the whole speech here. In mid-April, it was decided that Russia would have its own “Diamond League” due to the Russian exclusion from international sports. The Lasitskins are not very happy with the current situation and compare the scheme with a Soviet collective use. Last week, she turned to the Russian Athletics Federation and the Ministry of Sports: “Who are you doing this for?”
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Russian Olympic champion asked to compete – then it boiled over for Ukrainian star – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
