The Paris Olympics are only one year away. And fencers have girded up to participate in the trials to secure their tickets for the big games. The team Ukraine, amid the political situation, has also competed in the trials and faced the fencing team of Russia.

Recently, an Olympic Ukrainian fencer faced a Russian opponent in the women’s sabre competition in Milan. However, despite winning the match, Ukrainian Olympian Olga Kharlan faced disqualification for not shaking hands with her opponent. Amid this drama on Friday, the IOC has decided to bend their rules for the Ukrainian fencer.

IOC bends the rules for Ukrainian fencer

On July 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) guaranteed that Olympic gold medalist Olga Kharlan would be awarded a seat in the Paris Olympics 2024. The IOC decided to break the rule after a 32-year-old athlete was disqualified from the tournament in Milan on July 27. The Ukrainian fencer lost a few points due to the disqualification and had a high chance of not participating in the event.

However, only one day after the disqualification, the athlete received a formal letter from IOC President Thomas Bach. According to which, the 32-year-old will be “allotted an additional quota place for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.” Further, the letter stated, “you must fulfill the other eligibility criteria like any other Olympic athlete. Rest assured, the IOC will continue to stand with the Ukrainian athletes.”

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The Olympics have a strict quota that can allocate up to 10,500 seats to the athletes at the event. And amid the Olympics already giving a seat to Kharlan, Russian Olympic Committee chief Stanislav Pozdynakov accused the IOC of choosing Ukraine’s side. According to Forbes Pozdnyakov stated on July 27 that the IOC “Picked a side in the political conflict.” Further, the chief of the Russian team added that the IOC is trying to “neutralize our citizens and organization in sports.” However, two-time world junior Russian fencing champion Konstantin Lokhanov decided to take the side of Olga Kharlan and accused Anna Smirnova of causing unnecessary drama at the Milan tournament.

Women’s saber fencing competition in Milan

On July 27, Olga Kharlan, a four-time Ukrainian Olympic medalist, faced Russian fencer Anna Smirnova, competing as a neutral. The match was an easy win for Kharlan, with a final score of 15-7. However, the match’s ending stirred up trouble in the arena. After the win, Smirnova approached the Olympian to shake hands. Kharlan, however, decided to walk away from the handshake as she held her sabre in the air. Following this, Anna Simornova decided not to move from the arena. The athlete spent around 50 minutes on a chair in the arena. Due to the player’s protest, the International Fencing Federation decided to disqualify Kharlan from the event.

Many Ukrainians, infuriated by International Fencing Federation’s decision, accused Smirnova of protesting to cause trouble for Olga Kharlan. However, now Olga Kharlan will be able to play in Paris even if the athlete does not qualify for the trials.

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