Russian President Vladimir Putin has hit again at sanctions levelled on the nation’s athletes as he honoured Winter Olympic medallists on the Kremlin.
Russia was formally banned from Beijing 2022 as a part of doping sanctions, with opponents showing for the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
However that didn’t cease the controversy after teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva was allowed to take part regardless of a failed doping check two months earlier.
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The outcome was revealed solely on February 8, sooner or later after she had already helped the ROC win gold within the staff occasion.
Putin claimed on Tuesday that Valieva’s performances couldn’t have been achieved with the assistance of any banned substances.
“Through her work, she brought the sport to the level of a real form of art,” Putin mentioned.
“Such perfection cannot be achieved dishonestly with the help of additional substances, manipulations.
“We very well know that these additional substances are not needed in figure skating.”
Valieva, who turned 16 on Tuesday, was honoured by Putin regardless of her gold medal remaining below a cloud as a results of her ongoing doping case.
The Winter Olympics prevented additional drama when {the teenager}, skating below vital strain, completed fourth within the particular person occasion.
In the meantime, Putin additionally criticised two more moderen selections within the wake of his conflict on Ukraine.
He mentioned the ban on Russian and Belarusian Paralympians from the Winter Paralympics was a case of discrimination primarily based on nationality that “directly violated the fundamental principles of sport” and “their most basic human rights were … openly, cynically violated”.
He additionally argued that the Worldwide Swimming Federation (FINA) was “completely absurd” for meting out a nine-month ban to Russian Olympic gold medallist Evgeny Rylov.
Rylov appeared together with his medals at a rally hosted by Putin to assist Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The swimmer is below a contemporary investigation by FINA after showing to violate the phrases of his ban by swimming on the Russian nationwide championships final weekend.
Russian officers claim he was within the clear as the occasion was held with out being sanctioned by the worldwide governing physique.
Elsewhere, the repercussions rumble on with the more and more remoted Russia having its 2023 internet hosting rights stripped.
Subsequent 12 months’s ice hockey world championship was to be moved from St Petersburg in Russia, governing physique IIHF mentioned on Tuesday.
The match, scheduled for Might 2023, will likely be at a brand new venue to be named throughout the 2022 occasion, which takes place in Finland subsequent month.
“The decision to relocate the event was taken primarily out of concern for the safety and wellbeing of all participating players, officials, media, and fans,” the IIHF mentioned.
“The council expressed significant concerns over the safe freedom of movement of players and officials to, from and within Russia.”
Earlier this 12 months, the IIHF suspended Russian and Belarusian groups from its competitions till additional discover. Belarus is a key staging space for the invasion.
