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THE World Olympians Association (WOA) says it strongly believes the rights of Olympians and athletes to participate as individuals in sporting events should be upheld and promoted.
WOA was responding to a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee executive board in February that international federations and sports events organisers should not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in global competitions, which was issued following the start of the war.
In comments released following an executive committee meeting, WOA said it understood and respected the recommendation, but added it “strongly believes that decisions on whether to compete or not should be left to each individual athlete and should be based on the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter”.
Only a handful of international federations are currently allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals, including the International Tennis Federation, the International Judo Federation and the International Sambo Federation.
Following its meeting, WOA announced that it plans to set up an appeal in response to a call from the Ukrainian
Olympic community for funds to help with humanitarian aid and to rebuild sport in their country.
The Olympians for Ukraine Appeal is expected to be launched next week, with WOA president Joel Bouzou saying:
“Olympians are a worldwide community of athletes who have lived and competed together at the Olympic Games and who have bonded into a lifelong family bound by the principles and values of the Olympic Movement.
“When our fellow Olympians ask for help, we will do what we can. That’s why we set up #OlympiansforUkraine and why in the past we helped Sierra Leone and Liberia with our #TargetEbola campaign and why we have our National Olympian Associations grants programme.”
In a letter to Bouzou, Ukraine Olympians Association president Nina Umanets added: “The Ukrainian Olympians Association and I personally sincerely thank you for your solidarity and support to the Olympic community of Ukraine and all Ukrainian people in these hard and tragic times.
“Your support as well as the support of the rest of the world is very important and extremely needed for us.” – Inside the Games
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