Kharlan thanks ‘multi-million country of Heroes’ for support after IOC offers olive branch of Olympic license
Ukrainian Olympic champion fencer Olha Kharlan, whose controversial disqualification this week from the world championships caused a worldwide scandal, has commented on the IOC decision to offer her a license to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The six-time world champion took to Facebook to thank Ukrainians for the outpouring of support they showed her following the decision by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to disqualify her.
Read also: Six-time world champion Kharlan DQ’d for not shaking Russian’s hand – video
“It is exactly the moment when you see no hope, feel unbearable pain and despair, (and) think that you are all alone, when a multi-million nation of Heroes comes to your defense and changes everything in your life.”
After handily beating her Russian opponent Anna Smirnova in her first fight, Kharlan offered to cross swords instead of shake hands, an offer of respect that was introduced for safety reasons during the COVID era.
Kharlan was advanced to the quarterfinal round before organizers disqualified her for not shaking hands.
“I knew what I was risking, but I did not expect that it would shake the entire Ukrainian society and that everyone would join the struggle with me. What is happening now will definitely go down in history. This is something incredible,” wrote Kharlan.
Prominent athletes, politicians, and celebrities from across Ukraine offered video shows of support, including Kyiv mayor and former heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko, Olympic bronze medalist in tennis Elina Svitolina, Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyy, and the Dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Karpaty Lviv professional football teams.
Ukraine’s national postal service, Ukrposhta, announced that they would release a stamp commemorating the moment next month.
The IOC later offered implicit criticism of the FIE decision, saying international organizations should “handle situations involving Ukrainian and individual neutral athletes with the necessary degree of sensitivity”, before IOC President Thomas Bach personally announced the IOC would award Kharlan with an Olympic license to compensate for the loss of ranking points and humiliation from the disqualification.
“Thanks to each of you. Thank you to every organization of my beloved Ukraine who stood by me. Thanks to everyone who got involved and made an important contribution to this decision – the NOC, the Ministry of Sports, (Ukrainian Sports Minister) Vadym Markovych Huttsait in communication with the FIE and IOC, (to the) Ukrainian and international media, who spread the information as much as possible,” wrote Kharlan.
Read also: Denmark cancels fencing tournament due to Russian participation
Reacting to the international outcry, the FIE threw out the disqualification decision and reinstated Kharlan so that she could compete in the team event at the world championships.
“Ten of thousands of incredible Ukrainians who, with their words of support and their frantic pressure, influenced what happened now … the International Olympic Committee will allow me to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games regardless of how my qualification ends,” Kharlan wrote.
“You all, my dears, stood up for me. Thanks to everyone – and our soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces – forever.”
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
