Russian high jump star and reigning Olympic champion Mariya Lasitskene has called for International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach to intervene and end sanctions imposed on Russian athletes amid the invasion of Ukraine.
After president Vladimir Putin announced the military invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, the sporting world banded together to condemn his actions and ban Russian athletes from competition. All athletes, support personnel and officials from Russia and Belarus were banned from World Athletics events, while football also clamped down and Wimbledon controversially announced no Russian or Belarusian players would be allowed to compete.
The IOC followed suit, and banned athletes from the two countries from competing. However, Lasitskene has addressed the issue publicly in an open letter to Bach.
“Your decision did not stop the war but gave birth to a new one,” Lasitskene wrote in an open letter. “You say you made this decision for our safety but it's not true.”
Despite winning the gold medal at Tokyo 2020 last summer, Lasitskene has been banned from international competition since World Athletics decided to make their firm stance against the war. It means the 29-year-old has missed out on competing for her country on a number of occasions.
The three-time world champion was forced to sit out the 2016 Olympics in Rio when Russia were punished for state-sponsored doping. Lasistskene also won her 2017 and 2019 world titles while competing as a neutral athlete and represented the Russian Olympic Committee in last year's delayed Tokyo Olympics.
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“Of the last seven years, in total, I have not had the opportunity to compete in international competitions for about four,” Lasitskene continued. “World Athletics use my Russian passport as the trump card at every opportunity. And you saw no issues with this. Now they are doing this again, but directly at your instigation.”
The Russian star also accused the IOC of preferring to know ‘nothing of Russian athletes’ opinions and how our athletes live in light of recent events in Ukraine’. Lasistskene - who has been critical of Russian sporting bodies in recent years - added: “My main colleagues in the high jump sector are Ukrainian girls. And I still don't know what to say to them or how to look into their eyes.
“They and their friends and relatives are experiencing what no one human being should ever have to feel.”
Amid several sports federations opting to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competition and international events, Lasitskene believes Bach and the IOC were opting to take the ‘easiest solution’ by barring athletes from competition due to their nationality. She concluded: “I suspect that you will not have the courage or the dignity to put an end to the sanctions against Russian athletes.”
