The IOC Peace Prize Goes to……Vladimir Putin!
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What has changed in the four years since the IOC kicked Russia out of international sports competitions over its illegal invasion of Ukraine? Absolutely nothing. So the IOC has decided (at least unofficialy) to just give in to Putin and let Russia compete again.
The IOC advised Olympic sports bodies Tuesday to end a three-year program vetting Russians for neutral status ahead of qualifying events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The move was expected since the International Olympic Committee advised two months ago that athletes from Belarus, Russia’s military ally in the full military invasion of Ukraine, should be allowed again to compete with their full national identity.
“The IOC stands in solidarity with the Olympic community of Ukraine, which the Olympic movement has supported since the beginning of the war, and will continue to do so,” the Olympic body said in a statement after a meeting of its executive board.
The IOC eased entry requirements to its own events for Russian athletes and teams while provisionally lifting its suspension since October 2023 of the Russian Olympic Committee.
The terms of that suspension — imposed when the Russian Olympic body incorporated regional sports councils from occupied regions of Ukraine — no longer applied, the IOC said.
Just 32 approved athletes from Russia and Belarus competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics under neutral status, and they combined to win five medals. The Russian team had more than 300 athletes at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and won 71 medals.
The IOC did not yet approve letting Russian athletes and teams compete with their flag and anthem. That decision will come “at an appropriate time,” it said.
If you want to argue that athletes are not responsible for the evil of their leaders, that’s fair enough, but if you are going to apply standards to nations based on their behavior, sticking them is what matters. The other issue here is the widespread use of performance enhancing drugs by the Russians, which has also not really been addressed. But whatever, it’s Gianni Infantino’s world and we are unfortunate enough to live with it. But hey, the IOC still stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, so long as it costs them nothing. Sounds like white liberals standing in solidarity with black Americans while sending their kids to fancy schools to me. That’ll cost you nothing but it sure makes you sound righteous to your fellow professional whites over $15 cocktails! This house sure believes in science!
Meanwhile, one more point on the Colombia-Switzerland match. Any nation with bands as completely fucking awesome such as Bomba Estereo and Meridian Brothers deserve to win over a nation whose main contribution is money laundering and the cuckoo clock. But I forget to mention the bands earlier. What the hell has Switzerland ever offered to the world of popular music?
This can thus be a second World Cup thread, plus whatever you want to say about the various other haymakers I’m throwing before going to the Museo Arte Contemporaneo in Santiago.