Vadym Guttsait, the president of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, told national television: the Ukrainians selected for the Paris 2024 Games will have to respect a code of conduct towards their Russian and Belarusian rivals engaged as neutral athletes. They will not have to shake their hands, congratulate them, stand by their side and answer joint interviews. “ Do not congratulate each other, do not stand next to each other in photos, do not give joint interviews, of course, and do not shake hands », listed the former fencer during an intervention on Ukrainian television. Just over 100 days before the opening of the Paris 2024 Games, the protocol is still being finalized by the national Olympic committee. At this stage, these are only recommendations. But Vadym Guttsait suggested that it will certainly be validated and implemented before the Games. He also explained that Ukraine was currently in discussions with international federations to prevent athletes who, for example, refusing to shake hands with a neutral competitor on the competition field from being sanctioned for violating the regulations.
