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submitted 2 years ago by Woland@lemm.ee to c/world@lemmy.world

Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan was awarded a place in the 2024 Paris Olympics by the IOC on Friday after she was disqualified at the world championships for refusing to shake the hand of her Russian opponent.

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[-] Dankry@lemmy.world 101 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Good, it’s the right thing to do. Russians shouldn’t even be allowed anywhere near international athletics until Putin is arrested and standing trial for war crimes at The Hague.

[-] Pisodeuorrior@kbin.social 46 points 2 years ago

Also, everything else aside, not until they stop doping all their fucking athletes.

[-] Kinglink@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

The idea is the majority of their athletes are proven to be clean. There are definitely a decent number who got caught, and more scrutiny should be on Russia athletes than any other (Though all should be fully tested), but I believe it exposed only a subset of the Russian team was caught. 70 percent of the Russians were allowed to compete under the Olympic Flag.

Do I think IOC caught everyone who was doping? Of course not. Do I think every Russian was doping? I find that equally hard to believe.

Then again the fact it was only a four year ban for a state sponsored scheme? WTF.. but it just show IOC is still just one of the worst governing bodies in sports.

[-] WaDef7@kbin.social 50 points 2 years ago

If I were a professional athlete I would feel in the right to refuse to shake the hand of an athlete coming from a country proven to have a state-sponsored doping program significant enough to warrant that country's flag being banned from the Olympics long before this war.

Clearly this was about the war, but let's not pretend sportsmanship was intact before this handshake debacle came to be.

[-] mea_rah@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

There's actually pretty famous fencing cheating scandal that happened during 1976 Olympics. The soviet athlete was caught using electronic device to score victory.

The athlete was from modern day Ukraine BTW and IIRC he was allowed to compete in other events afterwards. He achieved very solid results even without cheating. So it wasn't something that he really needed to do in order to win, it's just the soviet apparatus wasn't taking any risks as sports are major propaganda outlets for them. Stakes are just too high for them not to cheat. The system is simply corrupt by design. Modern day russia just continues doing the same.

It's almost immoral to let russians compete even from the point of russian athletes as they are effectively forced to dope and cheat.

[-] Kinglink@lemmy.world 29 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

"reinstated"... I mean her win exists, but she still was kicked out of the tournament. She'll get her place, but I would bet hard money on the fact she would have preferred to stay in the tournament and compete for real.

This is IOC saving face, something they have to do far too frequently.

It sounds like the IFE is also making the right move to remove the handshake. I won't say all Russians (under the Olympic flag) have to be banned. Though this pro-war piece of shit is make a hell of an effort for me to change my mind on that. But forced sportsmanship needs to stop being a thing, because then it's not sportsmanship, when it's a rule, it's just a requirement of what you have to do.

[-] Th4tGuyII@kbin.social 23 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I don't think I'd want to shake the hand of someone whose people are illegally pillaging and destroying my homeland either. I'd sooner rather spit on it.

[-] RealBlstr@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

I mean, the US/UK leveled Irak / Afghanistan, but their athletes have been welcome to compete everywhere. No one spits at them, as far as I know.

If someone has such strong feelings against another country, they might as well go to the front line and kill/get killed. Fuck this girl and all chicken hawks out there.

[-] mea_rah@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

She is on the frontline winning important battles. There are often smarter ways to fight. Perhaps that's not obvious to vatniks that are told the only way to victory are countless meatgrinder waves of conscripts and prisoners.

[-] 6mementomori@lemmy.world 23 points 2 years ago

y'all don't understand we're going by a dangerous route again with this kinda shit. nobody sane in their mind thinks Putin is in the right, but if y'all gon refuse to shake the hand of a competitor because they were born in the wrong country with the wrongest politician, that's just petty and childish, and shows we really never learn from our mistakes.

[-] Kinglink@lemmy.world 60 points 2 years ago

Read up about this, because you're mistaken. This wasn't just because she's from the "Wrong country". She's an outspoken advocate for the war. Kharlan's brother is defending the Ukraine in the army.

Yeah I wouldn't be able to shake her hand either.

[-] 6mementomori@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

that changes things

[-] RealBlstr@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

She should join him. Able and willing? Go shoot or receive a few fucking bullets.

[-] illi@lemm.ee 38 points 2 years ago

The Ukrainian fencer did offer her weapon for tapping it, which is pretty much an equivalent of a handshake - much less cordial, sure but still. It was the Russian who then threw a tantrum to fuck with her oponent.

[-] symcal@lemmy.world 42 points 2 years ago

Classic russian behavior, play the victim even though you are the aggressor.

[-] FinalRemix@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

"Stop making me invade you! Why are you so meeeeeaaaan?!?"

[-] ares35@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago

they aren't the only ones with that move at the front of their playbook.

[-] symcal@lemmy.world 30 points 2 years ago

No, the one being petty and childish is the Russian who puts out a hand to a person which country is being occupied by theirs.

By competing under a Russian flag (or any flag for that matter) you represent a country and it's ideas. The "petty and childish" stance is not being ashamed of what your country does to others, not the other way around.

[-] Pelicanen@sopuli.xyz 19 points 2 years ago

Not to mention that Smirnova was offered to tap sabers and instead decided to sit and pout for close to an hour.

[-] lasagna@programming.dev 21 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

The dangerous route was already taken. Ukrainian people are getting slaughtered, today.

What a beautiful speech you give, completely blind to reality.

[-] 6mementomori@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

that's some nonsense reasoning

[-] Primarily0617@kbin.social 17 points 2 years ago

y’all don’t understand we’re going by a dangerous route

who knew that pre-game handshakes were load bearing when it came to the apparent house of cards that is modern society

[-] vickychen@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

Fascists gonna fascist

[-] Magiwarriorx@lemmy.world 15 points 2 years ago

I competed in a tiny lil Olympic sport no one outside of the shooting sports has ever heard of (double trap). Wasn't nearly good enough to attend international competition, but the competitor pool was small and I knew plenty who did.

The IOC and the Olympics are nothing more than a scam. I respect the athletes dedication but after seeing the IOC's scumfuckery up close I have 0 interest in the Olympics.

[-] koorool@feddit.de 15 points 2 years ago
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this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2023
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