Why the IOC is making a ‘unique exception’ for a Ukrainian athlete
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In the latest test of the International Olympic Committee’s policy allowing Russian athletes to compete, a Ukrainian fencer has been given a spot at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris after being disqualified for not shaking the hand of her Russian opponent.
A “unique exception” is being made, IOC President Thomas Bach explained in a letter to Olga Kharlan, a Ukrainian sabre fencer who has competed in four previous Summer Games and won four medals,
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“It is admirable how you are managing this incredibly difficult situation,” the IOC leader, a 1976 Olympic gold medalist in fencing, wrote following the incident at a key competition ahead of next year’s Olympics that drew worldwide attention.
Last week, Kharlan beat Anna Smirnova, a Russian competing as a neutral athlete as called for by the IOC under recommendations announced at the beginning of the year, in a first-round matchup at the world fencing championships being held in Italy.
But the Ukrainian then declined to accept a handshake, instead offering her sabre to touch blades. Smirnova did not respond to the gesture and refused to leave the competition site for nearly an hour in what was seen as a protest.
International Fencing Federation rules require post-match handshakes and Kharlan was initially disqualified from competing at the championships and other events, preventing her from earning ranking points towards Olympic qualification.
The federation later announced she could compete in the team championships, but defended the decision to punish her actions. It is not clear if Ukrainians will be allowed to avoid handshakes with Russian opponents in the future, The Associated Press reported.
Kharlan told the Italian newspaper LaRepubblica in a video interview conducted in English that she “couldn’t act differently” and had shown respect to her Russian opponent by fencing against her.
The Ukrainian said she offered her blade at the end of the match rather than shaking hands “because it was also allowed during COVID times. ... Yesterday they changed the rules, because they knew it was going to happen.”
Kharlan said she does not regret what she did and questioned whether Smirnova could be seen as a neutral athlete since she reportedly mentioned a brother was serving in the military in a since-deleted social media post.
“They’re killers,” Kharlan said of the Russians who have invaded her country.
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Bach said in his letter “It is impossible for me to imagine how you feel at this moment,” and assured her, “the IOC will continue to stand in full solidarity with the Ukrainian athletes and the Olympic community of Ukraine during these extremely difficult times.”
His decision to allocate an additional quota place to Kharlan means she will be able to compete at the Paris Games regardless of whether she is able to qualify in the time remaining.
Ukrainian officials had just changed a policy barring the nation’s athletes from facing off against “neutral” Russians and Belarusians after Bach said the government was “depriving” them of a chance to represent their country in Paris.
The IOC has been criticized from all sides for recommending at the start of the year that Russians and Belarusians be allowed to compete internationally as neutral athletes without flags or other emblems of their countries, if they haven’t shown support for the war.
Russian officials have labeled the recommendation discriminatory, while some Ukrainian sports leaders have suggested in the past that it could lead to a boycott of the Paris Olympics.
The new policy, a reversal of the IOC’s call for Russians and Belarusians to be banned from international competition, issued shortly after the start of the war in February 2022, has not yet been applied to the Olympics.
“I think we are going to take our time,” Bach told reporters during a virtual media roundtable marking one year before the mid-July start of the Paris Games. ruling out any decision this summer about the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Neither Russia nor its ally, Belarus, received an invitation to next year’s Olympics from the IOC. But before determining if any athletes from those countries will be permitted to attend, Bach said, “we’ve got to see exactly what is going to happen during the qualifiers.”
