MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. Russian swimmers showed a brilliant performance at the 2023 BRICS Games and this competition was a ‘breath of fresh air for our athletes,’ Vladimir Salnikov, the president of the Russian Swimming Federation (RSF), said on Monday.
Russia’s national team finished the 2023 BRICS Games in the top place having won a total of 35 gold, 12 silver and 12 bronze medals.
"We performed very well having chalked up almost two dozen victories and a pile of other medals, although it [this result] had been expected," Salnikov said in an interview with Russia’s Sport-Express daily. "There were no particular training sessions ahead of this tournament, but our swimmers put up a brilliant performance and it was an important moment in their sports careers."
"The BRICS Games gave our athletes a breath of fresh air under the current sanctions. The tournament was held in South Africa and this is an outstanding country," Salnikov, who is the four-time Olympic champion, four-time world champion and five-time European champion, said.
"The competition level was certainly lower if compared to the World and European [swimming] championships, but this does not mean that the [BRICS] Games should not be developing further," he continued.
The 2023 BRICS Games were held in the South African city of Durban between October 18 and 21, bringing together some 450 athletes competing in six sports disciplines. Russia was represented by a team of 34 athletes.
Speaking about the organization of the BRICS Games, Salnikov said he was glad that Russia would host the next edition of the tournament.
"I am very glad that our country will host next summer in [the city of] Kazan the 2024 Friendship Games and BRICS Games," he said. "New interesting formats of the tournaments may be offered."
"It’s premature to speak about them at the moment, but there are ideas that would let any trained or amateur athlete to participate," Salnikov added.
The 2024 BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Games will be hosted by the Russian city of Kazan between June 12 and 23 and will feature events in 25 different sports.
In mid-May, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to submit proposals for organizing and holding the 2024 BRICS Games in Russia.
Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin emphasized earlier this month that the BRICS Games are not meant to rival any other competitions and will not interfere with the international sports calendar.
IOC sanctions against Russia
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.
On October 12, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.