The Ukrainian government has released a list of Russian and Belarusian athletes that it says have supported the war in Ukraine. The list is in response to the IOC’s decision to allow athletes deemed ‘neutral’ on the topic to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The initiative by the Ukrainian government was unveiled as part of the “Play the Game 2024” conference in Trondheim, Norway.
The list includes current and retired athletes across 52 sports and includes brief explanations of an athlete’s presence on the list to varying degrees of support.
Among swimmers, the most prominent and overt name has been Evgeny Rylov, who appeared on stage at a pro-war rally alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. That earned him an individual 9 month suspension from World Aquatics and forced the governing body to act on an issue that they had previously resisted any national suspensions on.
He later said that he refused to sign any statements of neutrality regarding the war, and has continued to post on social media in support of Putin and the Russian war effort, along with supporting several other political, saying he did not regret his decision to appear at the pro-war rally.
He is not the only big name on the list, however. The retired Alexander Popov, who has 9 Olympic medals (4 gold and 5 silver) from the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Games, appears with a more nebulous justification. He was the named organizer of the Rosgvardia Swimming Championship, where the winner’s trophy was named in his honor.
“The cup awarded during the event was named in his honor, amidst the intense Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Ukraine says. “This action has raised questions about his eligibility to continue representing Russia within the International Olympic Committee.”
Ukrainian officials have launched a campaign to strip Popov of his status as an honorary member of the IOC for what they say is his support of a swim meet “in support of the war against #Ukraine.” Rosgvardia is the National Guard of Russia, a separate entity from the Russian Armed Forces. While the Rosgvardia was established to support protection of the Russian border, they have participated in military offensives in Ukraine.
Most of the names on Ukraine’s list are barred not for their overt action, but for the more passive action of being under contract with the Central Sports Club of the Army, CSKA (though in some cases, it’s for both). Several Russian athletes have been called up to active military service during the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The club is a massive sports club in Moscow, and at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was responsible for 45 of the 71 medals won by Russian athletes.
While the IOC has not publicly barred athletes from CSKA prima facie, their regulations have been interpreted as such both by independent observers and Russian government officials because of the club’s military affiliation.
Other names on the list:
- Anton Chupkov – Two time World Champion in the 200 breast, listed for liking and sharing posts by his sports team CSKA that contain the letter “Z” and otherwise support the war in Ukraine.
- Pavel Kabanov – A World Champion finswimmer, Ukraine says Kabanov has “liked” posts on Instagram supporting the war, including posts by the CSKA Team.
- Kiril Abrosimov – A European Champion open water swimmer, Abrosimov is under contract with the Central Sports Club of the Army, a military-affiliated sports club.
- Denis Adeev – A national level swimmer for Russia (who has not apparently represented Russia internationally) is under contract with the Central Sports Club of the Army, a military-affiliated sports club.
- Nikita Babchenko – A national level swimmer for Russia with a few minor international appointments (World Cups, European Junior Championships) is under contract with the Central Sports Club of the Army, a military-affiliated sports club.
- Ilya Borodin – A Russian National Record holder, European Champion in the 400 IM, and World SC silver medalist in the 400 IM, Borodin is under contract with the Central Sports Club of the Army, a military-affiliated sports club.
- Vladislav Grinev – A relay World Champion and individual World Championship bronze medalist, Grinev is under contract with the Central Sports Club of the Army, a military-affiliated sports club. He represented Russia at the 2019 World Military Games.
- Egor Dolomanov – A swimmer who represented Russia at the 2019 World Junior Championships and the 2021 World Short Course Swimming Championships, Dolomanov is under contract with the Central Sports Club of the Army, a military-affiliated sports club.
- Alexei Talai, a Belarusian Paralympic swimmer, has organized competitions with teams competing under the flag of the “Donetsk People’s Republic,” as well as repeatedly visiting occupied Ukrainian territories like Crimea and Donetsk. Talai last his limbs when he was 16 when he stepped on an unexploded WW2 landmine.
The list does not include the name of Ivan Girev, the only Russian who has so far been granted neutral status to participate in international competition by World Aquatics, though he is not on the entry lists for next week’s World Championships.
Several well-known Belarusian swimmers have been approved as neutral athletes as well, including Anastasiya Shkurdai and Ilya Shymanovich, who are both entered at the World Championships. They are among four Belarusian swimmers competing as Individual Neutral Athletes in Doha.
In spite of an external view that no athletes would choose neutral status because of the risk it might pose to the safety of them and their families, Girev said that he received no pressure from administrators, saying that “all of the athletes were told that the decision was up to them.”
A few other athletes have changed sporting citizenships, making them eligible to compete internationally again. For example, Ilia Sibirtsev will represent Uzbekistan in Doha at the World Championships, while Anastasiya Kirpichnikova represented France at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.
As of January 23, the United Nations reports that more than 10,000 civilians have been killed and nearly 20,000 injured since the war began. Estimates on the number of soldiers killed so far have varied, but most sources agree that the number is approaching half-a-million.
Ukraine’s government has also listed two artistic swimmers (Marina Golyadkina and Tetiana Pokrovska), 12 divers (including Olympic bronze medalist from the Tokyo Games Aleksandr Bondar), and an additional finswimmer (Maria Patlasova) among those who they say have supported the war.
Wish there were a list like this of athletes who support the genocide of Palestinians
Diluting the term genocide to just mean a war… genocide deniers will rejoice…
Yeah uh the ICJ isn’t always the most respectable institution…
Anyway dkne asking for downvotes, yeah Ukraine is clearly taking this a bit far (Popov?) I’m not sure there even is a logical stance on the issue as sport is such a small part of the all our propaganda war of both sides
(Yes I commented this on a previous article)
Is def a hot take and is going to get downvotes, but unless the Russian athletes have explicitly come out saying they support the war, I have sympathy for them. Not their fault their government sucks. Just let them compete. I understand the ban but these athletes have nothing to do with Ukraine and were unfortunately born inside the wrong made-up borders that we have instated on the world. Their choice if they want to identify themselves with it (screw you Rylov), but if they don’t, I think we should have sympathy for them, because it is a horrible situation they’ve fallen into. Imagine being Chikunova and being the WR holder… Read more »
Disappointed to learn this about Chupkov. Thought he was better than that.
Sorry but rosgvardia is an internal security force designed to be used against the civil population Russia has separate border military units and they don’t have anything to do with rosgvardia they are an important part of Putins dictatorship security system
Grinev actually said on his social media account that he’s against war, but he’s listed here because he’s under contract with a military-affiliated sports club. That’s a complicated issue.
For example, in countries like France and Brazil, many athletes are under military-affiliated clubs but not necessarily in close relationship with the army. In countries like Singapore and South Korea, every male citizen is required to serve in the military for 1 or 2 years. In countries like Israel and Switzerland, all men are regarded as soldiers by law. Do all of them have to be responsible for all decisions of their army? It’s a question that worth discussion.
Ehm which of those countries you mentioned started a war in Ukraine?
Hopefully Russia enter Chikunova for Paris.
Russian swimmers must be banned unless they confronted war. If they afraid for their lives they need to change citizenship
World Aquatics could make the switch of citizenship easier for Russians and Belarusians like in chess. (But I believe that hurdles were recently put in place, like passport control, in Russia to hinder traveling)
https://www.chess.com/news/view/russian-grandmaster-alexey-sarana-transfers-to-serbia