A potential Djokovic affair at the Beijing Winter Games? According to a high-ranking executive of Russian Olympic sport, at least three athletes from the delegation will be able to go to China without being vaccinated. And they will not be subject to a three-week quarantine upon their arrival in the capital.
Alexander Kogan, the general director of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, told the news agency TASS that skaters under the age of 18 will not need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before flying to China for the Beijing Winter Games.
This medical exemption concerns three young Russians, entered in the European figure skating championships, this week in Tallinn, Estonia (January 12 to 16): Kamila Valieva, 15 years old; Alexandra Trusova, 17 years old; and Anna Shcherbakova, 17 years old.
The three young girls, all minors, were selected for the individual event of the Beijing Games as part of the delegation of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). The youngest of the trio, Kamila Valieva (photo above), created a sensation by winning the title at the Russian championships last December. She is announced by experts as one of the favorites for the Olympic gold medal.
Alexander Kogan clarified this to TASS : " In accordance with the recommendations and regulations of the Games organizing committee, and according to the law of our country, minors on the national team will not be vaccinated..
The two versions of the playbooks published by the Chinese organizers for those accredited to the Games, including the athletes and their management, precisely define the health rules imposed on participants. They stipulate in particular that any unvaccinated person must observe an isolation period of 21 days upon arrival in China. But there is no mention of the particular case of athletes aged under 18.
Stanislav Pozdnyakov, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), announced last November that unvaccinated minor athletes would not be subject to quarantine. The former fencer explained that he had been informed by the IOC and the Chinese organizing committee. At the time of his declarations, Russia had seven selected prospects aged under 18: the three young skaters, plus four freestyle ski specialists.
Since then, Kamila Valieva, Alexandra Trusova and Anna Shcherbakova have won their ticket to the Beijing Games. They will go there without having been vaccinated. The other four Russian minors have not yet been officially selected.
Since last November, a new version of the Sputnik vaccine has been approved by Russian health authorities for adolescents aged 12 to 17.
