Posted: 26.10.2022 16:54:00

Look for logic in words

The General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) was held in Seoul. Representatives of 187 states, including Belarus and Russia, came to South Korea.

Even before the start of the General Assembly, the National Olympic Committees of a number of European countries demanded that representatives of Russia and Belarus be excluded from this event. However, the ANOC Executive Council issued a statement saying that ROC and NOC representatives are eligible to attend the General Assembly as they continue to be recognised by the International Olympic Committee. For some, this caused discontent. The Latvian Olympic Committee, for example, decided to boycott the meeting, and the Head of the NOC of Denmark Hans Natorp, entered into a dispute with the Head of the IOC Thomas Bach, during which the latter was adamant and advised the opponent to respect the opinion of the absolute majority.

Kseniya Sankovich
Meanwhile, all observers agreed that the statements made by Bach during the General Assembly regarding the sanctions imposed on Russian and Belarusian athletes are ambiguous.
The IOC President said that the situation with the removal of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the competition is an ‘insoluble dilemma’. On the one hand, in his opinion, athletes ‘should not become victims of politics’. On the other hand, according to him, it is not necessary to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete yet. According to him, the IOC’s decision not to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus was taken ‘as a protective measure’. However, he claims that the IOC agreed to the measure ‘with a very heavy heart’ because it affected ‘athletes and sports officials who did not start this war’ and are not responsible for it.
The Acting Secretary General of the NOC of Belarus, two-time Olympic medalist Kseniya Sankovich noted, “The participation of the NOC of Belarus in the General Assembly of the ANOC is certainly a good sign. I would like to note that the flag of our country was also present during the meeting. But it is still too early to talk about any serious shifts. Indeed, we see some warming and understanding, but the main thing for us is the admission of our athletes to competitions. Coming here we feel support of representatives of other countries, but there are also those who object. These are some European countries. Their resistance hampers the participants of our athletes in the upcoming high-level competitions — the European Youth Olympics Festival and the European Games. Yet, in our opinion, common sense must prevail sooner or later. We are still ready for dialogue and addressing all issues.”

By Tatiana Pastushenko