Ukrainian athletes are steadfast in their condemnation of the IOC permitting Russians to compete in sports events but some are at odds with their government over the threat to boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics.
With no end in sight to the hostilities since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine and with a year to go to the start of the Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has yet to decide whether competitors from Russia and its ally Belarus can compete under a neutral flag.
Olha Saladukha, Ukraine’s 2011 triple jump world champion and now a lawmaker, prays that her compatriots are not presented with an ultimatum.
“I hope that neither the IOC nor the French government will force us to make a difficult choice: boycott the Games or shake hands with those who have the blood of Ukrainians on them,” Saladukha told AFP.
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