World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said that the organization’s working group is studying the issue of the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to competitions under the auspices of the organization. At the same time, the functionary emphasized that he did not make the decision to suspend the athletes of the two countries alone. However, the former Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Pavel Kolobkov urged not to trust the words of the Briton, who makes such statements to serve his political interests.
Sebastian Coe has earned a reputation as a notorious Russophobe in recent years. It was during his reign at World Athletics (formerly also called the IAAF) that many years of exclusion of Russian athletes from international competitions occurred. The reason, as is known, was the report of German journalist Hajo Seppelt on the use of doping in the Russian national team and subsequent investigations by WADA.
The All-Russian Athletics Federation was limited in its rights from 2015 to 2023, and only a few athletes who received neutral status could compete at the World and European Championships, as well as the Olympic Games. At the same time, the criteria for issuing admission were not made public, and some athletes, such as runner Kristina Makarenko or long jumper Alexander Menkov, could not wait for them for years.
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Only Daria Klishina was admitted to the 2016 Games, and only ten Russians went to Tokyo 2020. But since the spring of 2022, this last door has also slammed shut: today, athletes with passports of the Russian Federation and Belarus are denied entry to athletics competitions for political reasons. Even though the International Olympic Committee recommended that they be allowed without flags and anthems, and many federations have already taken this path. However, there is a sad joke about track and field athletes in the sports community that they will be the last to return to the world stage – precisely because of Coe’s irreconcilable position. The Briton has stated more than once that until the end of the conflict in Ukraine, he categorically denies such a possibility.
However, after Thomas Bach announced that he would not be re-elected to a new presidential term in the IOC, the head of World Athletics became one of the favorites in the election race. And with this new status, his rhetoric changed somewhat. Thus, in a keynote interview with Sportsin, the functionary tried to relieve himself of at least part of the responsibility for decisions that were fateful for Russian athletes. He stressed that his task as head of the federation was always to ensure that the sport maintained a global reach and, whenever possible, remained politically neutral.
“But there are situations when you have to take a firm position. This was the case in Russia and Belarus, but I did not make this decision alone. I’m not that kind of leader. This decision was discussed and accepted by the WA Council, many of whose members are Olympic and world champions, as well as world record holders. “I and the other members of the Council did not come into sports to exclude athletes from competition,” Coe said.
At the same time, he took credit for the fact that during the doping scandal, the organization found a way to “separate clean athletes from a clearly vicious system,” which has now taken root in other organizations. Although the current situation has nothing to do with doping.
“We created a neutral status and processes for athletes that others have now adopted. We need to find a way for athletes to return when it is fair to do so, and we have a working group reporting to the Council that is looking at this issue. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has also added 40 Russian and Belarusian athletes to its testing pool, so that when the time comes, we will have a streamlined pathway and process for each athlete,” said the two-time Olympic champion.
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However, upon closer examination, such vague formulations and half-hints rather speak of his desire to sit – or rather, sit – on two chairs. Coe needs to secure the support of IOC members in the presidential elections, but his categorical attitude towards Russia and Belarus can play a cruel joke on him, because behind the scenes many sports officials from different countries are increasingly speaking out in favor of ending this senseless blockade.
And the admission of neutral athletes to the Games in Paris confirms this: even if in the end the process of issuing invitations turned into a farce, the initial message from the majority of IOC members was positive. And Coe apparently flirts with this part of the community with such a declaration of intentions.
Former Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Pavel Kolobkov noted that Coe’s statements about the prospects for the return of athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus to the world stage cannot be trusted.
“We’ve heard this many times, and it’s not even funny anymore. You can’t trust him under any circumstances. These statements are for the sake of his personal political interests. Moreover, this is how they think about Coe not only in Russia, but also in the rest of the world. If you don’t want to return Russian athletes, then, of course, the easiest way is to refer to the opinion of the mythical working group. And Coe doesn’t even want to discuss questions about the possible participation of Russians and Belarusians in tournaments,” TASS quotes the former athlete.
Source: russian.rt.com
