Banning Russian and Belarusian athletes will send a ‘strong message worldwide,’ says Elina Svitolina
Banning Russian and Belarusian athletes will send a ‘strong message worldwide,’ says Elina Svitolina
Ukrainian Elina Svitolina believes Olympic competitors from Belarus and Russia should be barred from competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympics last year demanded that players from Belarus and Russia be barred from competing in any tennis competitions overseas unless they condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of her country. The former World No. 3 has since taken her call for the Olympic Games to be boycotted by Russian and Belarusian athletes one step further, believing that this will send a “strong message.”
Svitolina took the matter to Twitter
“The Olympics are the biggest dream and ultimate privilege for athletes. They are the largest platform for inclusion and diversity in sports, capturing the attention of the world. With this in mind we must stick to banning Russian and Belarusian athletes, sending a strong message worldwide, that we are united in the sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus,” Elina Svitolina wrote on Twitter.
“There are consequences for the heinous acts of their governments; their lives cannot continue as normal and the world, nor the Russian or Belarusian people can be ignorant of the atrocities they are committing in Ukraine,” she went on to say.
The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Latvia declared in a statement on Wednesday that, as long as the war was still going on, it was inappropriate for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the Olympics under any flag.’
The Olympics are the biggest dream and ultimate privilege for athletes. They are the largest platform for inclusion and diversity in sports, capturing the attention of the world,’ the Ukrainian wrote on Twitter.
‘Their lives cannot continue as normal and the world, nor the Russian and Belarusian people, can be ignorant of the atrocities they are committing in Ukraine.’
Read More:
