Olympic fencing champion Sofya Velikaya has called the exclusion of Russian fencers from international competitions discrimination on the basis of nationality. One of her main rivals, Olga Kharlan, demands that representatives of the Russian Federation be allowed to participate in tournaments in this sport with the flag and anthem to "set an example for all countries."

Velikaya said this in an interview with the propaganda news agency RIA Novosti. The 38-year-old sabre fencer criticized the International Fencing Federation (FIE), which is controlled by Russia, for this.

"I am a current athlete, until next year for sure. And I am such an optimist, and deep down I believe in participating in the Olympics. But reality shows that this is unlikely to happen, in particular, the events in the fencing world. In my sport, discrimination is based on nationality. Although our federation could set an example for all countries and invite Russia to participate with the flag and anthem. But, unfortunately, this did not happen. We have to believe that we will participate, but so many events related to the Olympic movement have happened that some kind of transformation is needed," Velikaya said.

Earlier, Olympic fencing champion Yana Egorian said she was "tired of everyone" and spoke about her relationship with Ukrainian women.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), was outraged by the granting of a license to Olga Kharlan to participate in the 2024 Games in Paris.

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