“We will not make any deals with our conscience.” A powerful act by Russian judokas
Andrey Shitikhin June 29, 2024, 09:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The strongest federation, which sent athletes to all tournaments without any problems, has left the Olympic Games.
Russian judokas refused to participate in the Paris Olympics. The IOC did not allow the leaders of the Russian team to attend the 2024 Games, after which the Russian Judo Federation announced that no one would go. There will be no new fight between Inal Tasoev and Teddy Riner, which could grace the Olympic tournament.
Immediately after the publication of the latest list of neutrals admitted to the Olympic Games, the Presidium of the Russian Judo Federation decided to cancel the trip to Paris.
What did the Russian Judo Federation say?
Russian judokas rejected the opportunity provided by the IOC to compete in the Olympic Games.
“The Russian judo team will not accept humiliating conditions and will not compete at the Paris Games with the composition proposed by the officials of the International Olympic Committee. We are one of the strongest federations and national teams in the world. We complied with the conditions expressed by the IOC as long as they were acceptable to us, and we initially declared that we would not make any deals with our conscience,” the statement said.
This decision was made by the federation, which had no problems with the participation of Russian judo representatives in all competitions. The Russian team competed in both the World Championship and Grand Slam tournaments. Our judokas not only competed, but they won and obtained medals. And the fight between Inal Tasoev and Teddy Riner in the World Championship final has been discussed for months.
Why did the fight between Tasoev and Riner become legendary?
The Russian athlete was declared world champion after losing in the final. The judges were crazy!
According to the sporting principle, Russian judokas have obtained 12 Olympic licenses. But the IOC allowed only four, and only two were the leaders of the Russian ranking. This would be the final line-up.
If the leaders don’t go, no one goes. This is exactly what they decided in judo. And this is a powerful act by a powerful team.
Surely many will say: stupid, why did you do it? Let those who were allowed leave. They have a dream, they have been training all their lives.
Yes, a dream. Yes, we train. But not for some official to point a finger at the last minute and say: “I don’t want you to participate.” Just because I don’t want to.
The judokas showed pride by refusing to pick up crumbs from the master’s table. By the way, so did the wrestlers from Belarus, whose leaders were also not allowed to participate in the 2024 Games.
But not everyone understands that, in addition to “you have to go and annoy everyone, everyone already knows you are from Russia,” there are other points of view. And any decision must be respected, both by those who go and those who refuse.
