"We don't really want to": the stars of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team refused to participate in the 2024 Olympics

The leaders of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team, Dina and Arina Averina, have confirmed that they will not be competing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The 25-year-old athletes were afraid to go against their mentor Irina Viner, who single-handedly announced this decision due to the conditions of admission to the competition.

The Averina sisters said this in a commentary to Sport24. The Russian women, who failed at the 2020 Olympics and left Russia without a gold medal for the first time in 25 years in the sport, complained about the requirement to compete without the national flag and anthem, noting that they "don't really want" to go to the French capital in a neutral status.

"We knew Irina Aleksandrovna Viner's position on the anthem and the flag, and we were not surprised. We have already attended the World Cup and the Olympics under neutral status and we don't really want to do it again. That's why we fully support Irina Aleksandrovna's position," the Averina sisters said.

On December 8, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympics in neutral status. However, this applies only to individual events, and the athletes themselves must meet certain criteria. In response, swimmer Yevgeny Rylov refused to travel to Paris.

Dictator Vladimir Putin did not give an unambiguous decree to his athletes on how to deal with the 2024 Olympics. Later, the IOC reduced the number of Russians who were allowed to participate in the Games, which will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11. Initially, it was reported that 8 Russians and 3 Belarusians had been selected.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Russian skier Anastasia Faleeva was criticized in Russia for "having thoughts" of competing at the Olympics under a neutral flag.

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