Ukraine eases its sports boycott policy to compete against some Russians ahead of Olympics

KYIV: Ukraine has signaled it will no longer bar its athletes from competing against Russians who are taking part in sporting events as “neutral athletes,” a significant easing of its boycott policy a year before the Paris Olympics. A decree dated Wednesday says Ukrainian athletes and teams will only be required to boycott if competitors from Russia or Belarus are competing under their national flags or other symbols, or have signaled allegiance to either of those countries in another way. The change in policy could smooth the way for Ukrainians to compete at next year’s Paris Olympics.

Ukrainian athletes previously boycotted events which allowed Russians and Belarusians as “Individual Neutral Athletes,” the preferred term of the International Olympic Committee. It wasn’t immediately clear how the decree would be implemented in practice, but at least one leading Ukrainian athlete competed against a “neutral” Russian competitor on Thursday. Olympic champion Olga Kharlan competed against officially-neutral Russian opponent Anna Smirnova at the world fencing championships — an Olympic qualifier — on Thursday in Milan, Italy, winning their bout 15-7.

However, Smirnova refused to leave after the bout for more than 50 minutes, sitting on a chair on the fencing piste in an apparent protest because Kharlan refused to shake hands at the end. Kharlan was later listed as excluded from the event in the tournament bracket. It was not immediately clear why.