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Anti-Russian sanctions

Czech Olympic Committee not to boycott 2024 Olympics if Russian athletes authorized

According to NOC, the country is not willing to punish her athletes

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Czechia has no intention to boycott the 2024 Olympics in Paris, if Russian and Belarusian athletes are authorized to take part in the games, a NOC representative told Czech television (Ceska televize) on Saturday.

"A boycott is off the table for us, because we do not want to punish Czech athletes. We have apologized for the boycott of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and we do not want to repeat this sad Communist-era experience," the representative said.

In February, 2022, the International Olympic Committee recommended international sports federation not to authorize Russian and Belarusian athletes over the events in Ukraine. In late January, 2023, the IOC proposed to authorize athletes that do not actively support the special military operation to participate in neutral status. Later, President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov noted that the IOC does not require Russian athletes to condemn the special military operation.

On January 26, Ukrainian Minister of Sports Vadim Gutsayt said that the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee may reject taking part in the Olympics if the ban for Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation is not prolonged. On February 2, the IOC said that the boycott threat from the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine "contradict the basics of the Olympic movement and the principles that it promotes."

The IOC also emphasized that no previous boycotts have achieved their political goals and only served as a punishment for the boycotting athletes.

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Sanctions vs. Russia Sports Czech Republic International Olympic Committee

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