LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Russia stated on Saturday that 10 of its wrestlers who were extended spots at the Paris Olympics as neutrals will decline to participate.
The Russian wrestling federation announced in a statement that following a meeting among its officials, coaches, and athletes, they arrived at a unanimous decision to refuse participation in the Olympic Games.
These wrestlers would have constituted the largest contingent of Russians in any single sport competing in Paris under the Individual Neutral Athlete program initiated by the International Olympic Committee to allow some athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete amidst the conflict in Ukraine.
While the IOC had previously invited 10 Russian wrestlers to the Paris Olympics and listed nine as having agreed to compete on its website, one declined the offer.
The IOC is yet to respond to the Russian wrestling federation’s statement from Saturday, regarding the possible pressure faced by the wrestlers to decline and whether they would support any athlete wishing to compete against the federation’s wishes.
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The federation expressed objection to the IOC’s selection process for inviting wrestlers, stating that up to 16 Russians had qualified for the Paris Olympics, not 10. It also highlighted that six of those invited did not hold the status of Russian team leaders. The federation listed the names of top Russian wrestlers who were not invited and remarked that the Olympic event’s value would diminish as a result.
The statement further mentioned, “Any reasonable person understands that the significance of the Olympic Games as the most important sporting event is being challenged, and wrestling competitions without Russian athletes will be incomplete, depriving champions of the satisfaction of winning the Olympic tournament.”
The IOC’s previous announcement specified that only Russian and Belarusian athletes without ties to the security services or military, and not publicly supporting the war, would receive invitations. These athletes would compete in neutral uniforms without national flags.
While some Russian athletes and officials have advocated for participating under these conditions at the Paris Olympics, others have called for boycotts. The wrestling federation had previously sent athletes to participate in qualifying competitions unlike some other Russian sports bodies.
Last week, the Russian judo federation declared its decision not to send any athletes to Paris, with no specific mention of their athletes’ thoughts. The IOC mentioned one Russian judo competitor accepting an invitation on its website, awaiting individual responses from the other athletes.
As per the latest update on the IOC website, 23 Russian athletes across seven sports have accepted invitations for the Paris Olympics, including the wrestlers. Among them is Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, in the tennis category.