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On Friday, June 29, the National Judo Federation of Russia stated that it would not send its judokas to the Paris Olympics 2024. The decision came after only four out of 17 players received permission from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In December 2023, the IOC suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes but allowed them to compete as neutrals as long as they did not actively support the war on Ukraine.
Athletes from both Russia and Belarus have faced sanctions from multiple sports events since Moscow launched its assault on Ukraine. Several athletes from both nations will be allowed to compete at Paris 2024 as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) without their flags, anthems, and emblems.
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National Judo Federation of Russia releases its statement
In its latest statement on its website, the National Judo Federation of Russia stated that it couldn’t accept the IOC ruling.
"Until the very end, we had hoped that common sense and a desire to hold full-fledged Olympic Games with athletes from Russia and Belarus would prevail over political intrigues," the statement said.
The statement added that the IOC’s ‘humiliating conditions’ on Russian judo athletes were the main reasons behind the team pulling out of the quadrennial event in Paris, as decided by the Federation’s governing council.
"Unfortunately, our hopes were not realised... Under the circumstances, the presidium of the Russian Judo Federation has decided unanimously that the Russian judo team will not accept the humiliating conditions and will take no part in the Paris Games in the form proposed by IOC officials," the statement added.
Additionally, the National Judo Federation of Russia insisted that the Russian judoka team was among the strongest in the world and all the officials had already met the requirements set by the IOC.
It had long pledged to sign no declarations "discrediting the policies of our country" and rejected any selection method "aimed at...breaking the spirit of Russian athletes."
Vladimir Putin, a judo blackbelt and co-authored a book titled "Judo: History, Theory, Practice.”, was often seen practicing and training with his country’s athletes. However, the International Judo Federation (IJF) suspended his honorary president status back in 2022.
