Three Pistols, Six Shooters and No Medals at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games (OG): this is the composition of the Russian selection, lined up in a neutral regime, at the Individual European Fencing Championships, from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 June, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. For the first time a group of Russian fencers takes part in an official competition, following the decision of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to reintegrate them with Belarusian athletes.
Acted on March 10, their return was to be effective from April, at the opening of the qualifying period for the Paris Games – which depends on a world ranking. However, this remained subject to the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which last March 28 had finally recommended that athletes from the two countries could only compete individually and that those under contract to the military or who had shown support for the war in Ukraine they remain ostracized.
However, the position of the FIE, far from being unanimous within its affiliated federations, has caused an upheaval in the tournament calendar. The Plovdiv meeting is just the latest example of date: initially, these European championships were supposed to take place in Krakow, Poland, during the European Games, from June 21st to July 2nd.
As part of the sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine, Poland, a major supporter of Kiev, has introduced travel restrictions on Russian and Belarusian citizens. Faced with the fear that the athletes of the two countries will be denied an entry visa, the International Federation has therefore decided to remove its value as European championships from the individual competition of the European Games. Concretely, the Krakow meeting will not award points in the run-up to Paris 2024 – unlike the team event, from which Russians and Belarusians remain excluded due to the recommendations of the IOC.
In due course, the possibility of organizing a replacement tournament in October was finally ruled out, with the hope that the continental deadline will be held before the World Cup in Milan, from 22 to 30 July. May 31, in a press releasethe European Fencing Confederation has therefore approved that the “real” European championships, the ones whose results will be counted in the Olympic qualification, will take place in Plovdiv in mid-June.
“Chaotic situation that will cause permanent damage”
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