Russia’s participation in the 2024 Olympics in Paris “unreasonable” for Kogler

“It is simply unreasonable for Ukrainian athletes to compete against Russian and Belarusian athletes in the fight for medals,” said Vice Chancellor Kogler when asked about this by the daily newspaper “Der Standard” (online edition).

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently spoke out in favor of the readmission of the Russians and Belarusians, who have been sanctioned since last year because of the war of aggression against Ukraine. There were violent protests and boycott threats from Ukraine, which other countries also joined.

The Austrian Olympic Committee (ÖOC), on the other hand, follows the IOC line, which Kogler cannot understand. “With all understanding for the situation of one or the other Russian or Belarusian athlete: inside – my sympathy goes first and foremost to the families of those Ukrainian athletes: inside, there are said to be around 220 to date on the battlefield or through Russian attacks on the civilian infrastructure had to lose their lives,” said the Green politician.

Kogler is also reluctant to the IOC’s condemnation of the threat to boycott Ukraine. “The IOC’s criticism of Ukraine’s boycott considerations must be rejected,” said Kogler, pointing out that a large proportion of the Russian and Belarusian activists are members of the army. “In Tokyo, 45 out of 71 medals were won by army personnel. At the Beijing Winter Games, a third of the participants of the Russian Olympic Committee team served in the army.”