Russian Olympic champion who complained about "violence against Russian soldiers" withdraws from 2024 Olympics

Olympic champion David Belyavsky refused to criticize the conditions for allowing Russian athletes to participate in international competitions and to compete at the 2024 Games. The Tokyo 2020 winner in the team tournament complained that the representatives of the aggressor country "were not given a chance to participate."

Belyavsky said this in a comment to the Sport24 portal. The 31-year-old athlete pretended that he was not too upset by the need to bend to the narratives of Russian propaganda, which calls performing at the Olympics in neutral status a real betrayal, and refuse to travel to the French capital.

"We were not given a chance to participate. Moreover, I was there three times. For me, it's not as big a loss as for the young people. I will prepare for the Friendship Games and BRICS. I don't know how competitive the tournaments will be. We will see as we live. I believe that the organization will be at the highest level, as always," Belyavsky said.

It should be noted that after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the gymnast did not speak openly about the war. However, he complained about the harassment of the occupation forces of the aggressor country and called Russia a "victorious country." "We are moving to Telegram and the social network in contact, for a reason known to all! Meta has lifted the ban on calls for violence against Russian soldiers!" he wrote in March 2022.

On December 8, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Winter 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 full boycott of the tournament.

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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