More than 300 fencers qualified as a “catastrophic mistake” the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to admit athletes from Russia and Belarus to fencing competitions, Reuters reports.

In January, athletes from Russia and Belarus were given the opportunity to secure a place at the 2024 Olympics through Asian qualification and compete in Paris under a neutral flag.

The decision to allow their participation in international fencing competitions was made on March 10 during the extraordinary FIE Congress.

>> The IOC president defends the plan to welcome Russian athletes to the 2024 Games

Russian interests prevail over the rights of Ukrainian athletes

318 fencers from Europe, USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Japan (286 still active, the rest retired) signed the letter to Thomas Bach (IOC President) and Emmanuel Katsiadakis (Acting President of the FIO) in just a few days before the opening of the qualification window for the 2024 Olympics.

“Completely disregarding the voices of the athletes, you have allowed both Russia and Belarus to return to FIE competitions, as well as to a tournament that was allegedly held on Russian soil.

This is a clear violation of the IOC’s position… and once again exposes Russian interests that prevail over the voice and rights of athletes, especially in Ukraine.

This blatant, unprovoked war and violation of the Olympic truce cannot be ignored or rewarded. A return to business as usual would be a catastrophic mistake.” this is shown in the fencers letter.

Ukrainian athletes must run, they are dying in this war

After the decision of the IOC and the FIE, Germany refused to organize the rapier stage of the World Cup, Poland is considering the same.

“At the moment nothing is set, everything is in motion and we are right before the Olympic qualifiers and nobody knows how it is going, how can it happen?

It is still difficult to come to terms with the fact that Russian athletes cannot compete, because they too have Olympic dreams. But on the other hand, you also have the interests of Ukrainian athletes. They must run. They die in this war.

What else has to happen to sanction the state for something when (Russian President Vladimir Putin) violates the principles of sport? One of the most important principles is peace.” – said Lea Krugerfencer from Germany, who added that some of her colleagues were unsure about signing the letter, fearing reprisals.

According to Global Athlete, 343 sports facilities were destroyed in Ukraine, as a result of which about 140,000 young people were left without premises, and 40,000 Ukrainian athletes train abroad.

The IOC is demanding that its recommended sanctions be lifted

On February 28, 2022, the IOC gave recommendations to international sports federations to ban athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, the IOC changed its mind and on January 23 called for a “unifying vision” and announced that it needed to find a way for Belarusian Russians to compete, saying that banning an athlete based on his passport was discriminatory.

“The IOC, being committed to human rights, like international sports federations, must of course address these serious issues,” said Thomas Bachpresident of the IOC and gold medalist of the 1976 Olympic fencing games in Montreal.

Stanislav Pozdnyakov, president of the Russian Olympic Committee, former head of the European Fencing Confederation and four-time Olympic champion, said in a statement that “the voice of common sense has been heard.”