Voices are multiplying in Ukraine in the debate on the possible participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris 2024 Games. The latest, that of the mayor of the capital, former heavyweight boxer Vitali Klitschko (photo above ). The first elected official of the city of kyiv asks that their presence at the Olympic meeting be conditional on a clear and public position against the conflict in Ukraine. “ Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot participate in the Olympics in Paris if they do not say “No” to war, suggested the Ukrainian in an interview withAFP. If they say it publicly, they can, but they are afraid. To every Russian athlete, tell your government, the Russian president to stop this senseless war. You are either for or against the war. » Vitali Klitschko thus increases the pressure exerted on the IOC by Ukraine, with its president Volodymyr Zelensky in the lead. But the Olympic body has been repeating it for several weeks: the decision is up to it, it is not the responsibility of governments or political leaders. During the same interview, the former world heavyweight champion confided that he would be “ very happy to invite Thomas Bach to Ukraine, so that he can see for himself the destroyed villages, the people killed, injured. » Before concluding about the IOC President: “ He doesn't understand, or (then) he's playing a game with Russia, I don't have an explanation. »
