“Olympic Games Are About Peace”: Vowing to Boycott, Ukrainian Swimmers Call Out IOC, Amidst Russian Controversy

As the 2024 Paris Olympics inches closer, one issue has taken center stage in the sports world. The issue concerns the morality of letting Russian athletes compete in the upcoming Olympics. Sports fans, athletes, experts, politicians, and even entire countries have already made their stances known. Russia, who invaded Ukraine in February 2022, said it would be “discrimination on the basis of nationality” to not let Russian athletes compete. Meanwhile, Ukraine has been raising its voice for the IOC to ban Russian athletes or face a boycott.

Ukrainian athletes have also shown the same sentiment. Former Olympic gold medalist Wladimir Klitschko took to social media to urge the IOC to ban Russian athletes in January. Now artistic swimmers and World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2023 gold medalists Maryna and Vladyslava Aleksiiva have vowed to boycott the Olympics if Russian athletes are allowed.

Ukrainian swimmers on what the International Olympics Committee should do

Agence France-Presse (AFP) spoke to Ukrainian swimmers who have come from different parts of the country to train at Kyiv. Many athletes including, Maryna and Vladyslava Aleksiiva, have come from parts of the country ravaged by the war. The Aleksiiva sisters fled from their hometown in Kharkiv when the Russian armed forces attacked the city last year.

Despite immense hardships, the sisters trained at Kyiv and won gold in acrobatics at the 2023 Artistic Swimming World Cup. The 21-year-olds told AFP that they had initially received messages from athletes that the Russian military was coming to aid them. Instead, the war upended their lives and jeopardized their careers. The gold medalists told AFP that they would boycott the 2024 Paris Games if the IOC allows Russian athletes, including the one who sent them the messages. “(The IOC) must show that the Olympic Games are about peace. They must show this to the whole world,” said Maryna Aleksiiva while speaking to AFP.

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26-year-old diver Stanislav Oliferchik also spoke to AFP. He is among the swimmers training for nearly six hours at the new swimming pool in Kyiv. Oliferchik could only swim once in the “beautiful” new pool in his hometown of Mariupol before the invasion. He told AFP that while Ukrainian athletes have struggled, the Russians “train calmly in calm conditions and are surrounded by calm.” The diver is also against letting Russians compete under a neutral flag. “Everyone knows what country they will represent if they are allowed under a neutral flag,” he said during the interview. He also told AFP, If they are still allowed, our team will boycott.“

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Besides Russian athletes, many have also called for the ban of Belarusian athletes, as Belarus is Russia’s ally in the war. However, the IOC is yet to make its final decision.