23.03.2022, Moscow.
Russian swimmer and two-time Olympic champion Evgeny Rylov refused to go to the World Swimming Championships as a sign of solidarity with Russian athletes from other sports who were banned from international competitions. Rylov himself wrote about this on his Instagram (organization banned in Russia) page on March 23.
“As a sign of support for Russian Paralympians, as a sign of support for all Russian athletes who have been banned from international competitions, I refuse to go to the 2022 World Championships this summer,” he wrote.
Rylov added that without competition, the sport will not develop and called on international sports federations to think about the path they are taking. “The federations should draw conclusions about the direction in which they want to develop sports and whether Pierre de Coubertin wanted to see that when he initiated the organization of the Olympic Games, which were supposed to unite people,” he wrote.
After the start of Russia’s special military operation in Donbass, the International Olympic Committee recommended that international sports federations suspend athletes from Russia and Belarus and cancel all competitions in these countries.
As a result, the IOC recommendations were followed by most Olympic sports federations, including soccer, hockey, figure skating, gymnastics, skiing, biathlon, track and field and many others.
In some sports, Russian athletes are allowed to compete, but under a neutral flag. At the moment, such sports include tennis, chess, swimming, auto racing and some others.
Evgeny Rylov won two gold medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and was one of the favorites to win the 2022 World Championship.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
