"Must sacrifice themselves": famous Ukrainian tennis player trolled Russians who want to compete at the Olympic Games-2024

Famous Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko has called on Russian athletes to act like true patriots and refuse to participate in the 2024 Olympics. In a trolling style, our compatriot expressed her hope that Russian representatives will boycott the Games in Paris.

She expressed this opinion in an interview with the Polish publication Sportowe Fakty. The 34-year-old Kyiv resident emphasized that athletes from the aggressor country are obliged to follow the narratives of Kremlin propaganda, which calls those who agree to participate in international tournaments in a neutral status traitors.

"I hope that in the context of the Games in Paris, Russians will behave like true patriots and will not agree to compete under a neutral flag. I really hope that in this case, honor and pride for the country will not be just a slogan for them. I don't want to see them during the Olympics, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this scenario becomes a reality. If they love their country so much, they should sacrifice themselves and not go to the Olympics. That would be the best solution," Tsurenko said.

Before that, she said that allowing Russians to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games would lead to terrible consequences - they would express support for dictator Vladimir Putin in every way possible, overshadowing the competition itself.

On December 8, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympics in a 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, and the rhythmic gymnastics team announced a boycott of the tournament in its entirety. 

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

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