"You have already seen the news..." Harlan tells how Ukraine was betrayed by the international federation

Two-time Olympic champion Olga Harlan expressed dissatisfaction with the election of Russian Alisher Usmanov as president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE). The experienced athlete noted that representatives of many countries that had previously been in solidarity with Ukraine supported the candidacy of the Russian representative in the election.

Harlan said this at the Power of Sports Diplomacy forum in Kyiv, an OBOZ.UA correspondent reports. At the same time, the saber fencer from Mykolaiv emphasized that Ukrainians will continue to fight against the aggressors and will continue to remind the world of the criminal war that Russia has unleashed against our country.

"In general, the mood... You've already seen the news that the Russian oligarch Usmanov has become president of the FIE again, and it's very upsetting because those federations that supported us before, they also voted for Usmanov. And these are 120 federations out of 146. So you can see the mood, but we don't have to stop there. And by my appearance at the Grand Prix in Orleans this Saturday, I will show that I am present and that I will fight for the fact that Ukrainian athletes should be on the international stage, especially in fencing," Harlan said.

Earlier, former Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov called the nomination and subsequent appointment of oligarch Alisher Usmanov as a gift to the FIE.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Ukrainian fencer Yulia Bakastova will not boycott fights against Russian athletes at international tournaments.

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