Ukraine has signalled it will no longer bar its athletes from competing against Russians who are taking part in sporting events as “neutral athletes,” a significant easing of its boycott policy a year before the Paris Olympics.
A decree dated Wednesday says Ukrainian athletes and teams will only be required to boycott if competitors from Russia or Belarus are competing under their national flags or other symbols, or have signalled allegiance to either of those countries in another way.
The change in policy could smooth the way for Ukrainians to compete at next year’s Paris Olympics. Ukrainian athletes previously boycotted events which allowed Russians and Belarusians as “Individual Neutral Athletes,” the preferred term of the International Olympic Committee.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the decree would be implemented in practice, but at least one leading Ukrainian athlete competed against a “neutral” Russian competitor on Thursday.
Olympic champion Olga Kharlan competed against officially-neutral Russian opponent Anna Smirnova at the world fencing championships – an Olympic qualifier – on Thursday in Milan, Italy, winning their bout 15-7. However, Smirnova refused to leave after the bout for more than 50 minutes, sitting on a chair on the fencing piste in an apparent protest because Kharlan refused to shake hands at the end.
Kharlan was later listed as excluded from the event in the tournament bracket. It was not immediately clear why. Smirnova was not reinstated and Bulgarian fencer Yoana Ilieva, who Kharlan had been due to face next, advanced by walkover.
Another Ukrainian, Igor Reizlin, withdrew from his event at the same world championships when he was drawn to compete against a Russian in the men’s epee tournament on Wednesday, before the decree was published.
The IOC favours allowing Russians and Belarusians to compete as “neutral athletes” without national symbols in Olympic qualifying events. The governing bodies of most Olympic sports have either adopted the IOC policy already or are working on plans to do so.
The IOC still recommends barring Russia and Belarus from team sports and excluding athletes who are contracted to the military or security forces.
The IOC – which initially recommended that sports bodies exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes on safety grounds last year – says it has not taken a final decision on allowing “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes at next year’s Paris Olympics.
Ukraine had previously objected strongly to the policy, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying in January that “any neutral flag of Russian athletes is stained with blood” and that Russia would exploit their presence for propaganda.
Ukrainian teams in fencing and judo already boycotted events which included Russians following last year’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A government decree in April made that state policy as IOC-backed efforts to reintegrate Russian and Belarusian athletes gathered pace.
Some Ukrainian athletes publicly disagreed with the boycott policy, saying that it was better to ensure Ukraine was still represented even if they would prefer Russians did not compete.
Tennis is the one sport where matches between Ukrainians and Russians or Belarusians have been commonplace. The men’s and women’s tennis tours allowed players from Russia and Belarus to keep competing without national flags last year. Ukrainian players have refused to shake hands with them, sometimes prompting boos from the crowd.
The dispute between Kharlan and Smirnova could resonate with Olympic decision-makers. Fencing may be not be one of the most-watched sports at the Olympics, but former fencers are influential behind the scenes.
IOC president Thomas Bach, who has signalled his organization will monitor the behaviour of Russians and Belarusians given neutral status, is himself a former fencer who won a gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Senior sports officials in Russia and Ukraine are also former fencers who were teammates at the 1992 Barcelona Games.