A Ukrainian athlete has spoken out about the struggles of competing in the Olympics with pro-war Russian athletes, slamming the competition for allowing people “who support killers” to take part.
Zhan Beleniuk, who won a bronze medal in the men’s 87kg Greco-Roman wrestling at the games yesterday, spoke exclusively to the Daily Express about how “tough” it has been to see Russian athletes in support of the ongoing war in Ukraine allowed to compete.
He said: “It’s tough when you compete against somebody who supports killers, who supports somebody who killed, for example, your relatives, father, mother, sister.”
There are 15 “Individual Neutral Athletes” from Russia competing in the Paris Olympics, though they were barred from the opening ceremony and have rarely made the podiums.
It’s been reported previously that 10 out of the 15 athletes support Vladimir Putin‘s war, forcing Ukrainian athletes to compete against people who agree with the destruction of their country.
This has sparked fierce backlash due to the war in Ukraine, now well into its second year, which has wrought devastation throughout the country and prevented many athletes from competing
Beleniuk, also the People’s Deputy of Ukraine, said that while the Olympics is a poignant opportunity for Ukrainian athletes to remind the rest of the world that the brutal war is still their everyday reality, it can be draining for their mental health.
He said: “It’s a great opportunity to share information about the war and about the crimes of the Russian state against Ukraine, [but] it’s difficult because the mental health of our athletes is not good because of the war.
“You think about not only your safety, you think about the safety of your parents, of your friends. But in general, it’s a good opportunity for us and we try to be useful for our country.”
Though there were no pro-Putin Russian athletes in Beleniuk’s event, he was still forced to share the same international sporting stage with them and called for them to be banned.
He said: “I think it’s the wrong decision from the International Olympic Committee. We tried to explain our position to them all this time. It’s a bad situation and nothing’s changed; Russia continues to grip our territory and kill our people.”
The International Olympic Committee’s ruling and concept of neutrality has also come into question by human rights lawyer and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk, who agreed that Russian athletes should never have been allowed to compete.
She accused the committee of “violating its own regulation” by allowing the athletes who “in reality, support the war” to compete. She told the Daily Express: “It’s not neutrality, it’s indifference. People can’t be neutral to human rights suffering.
“People can’t be neutral to violations of international order. It ruins the whole international system of peace and security. It’s not neutrality – it’s blind and indifferent.”
As the Paris Olympics comes to a close on Sunday, Beleniuk issued a reminder to those watching to “fight for democracy” by continuing to show support for his country in the fight against Putin’s forces.
He said: “People around the world should know about the current situation in Ukraine and they should put some pressure on their governments to support Ukraine because we fight for the same thing, for democracy.
“This happiness of the sport, this celebration of the sport, but at the same time people have died because of this. It’s terrible, but it is our reality for more than two and a half years.”