Ban on Russian athletes a ‘disgrace’ – African Olympic champion
Kenyan Olympic champion Wilfred Bungei has denounced the ban on Russia’s national team from international sports competitions as shameful, demanding that it be lifted.
The retired middle-distance runner, who won the 800m gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, made the comments in an interview with TASS, published on Monday.
“The fact that athletes from Russia were banned from participating in international competitions is a disgrace for the competition organizers. This ban must be lifted,” he told the news agency.
Russian and Belarusian athletes were stripped of their right to compete in the Olympics and other international sporting events under their countries’ flags following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
For this year’s Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) set a maximum of 55 Russian athletes who could qualify, and 28 for Belarus. Athletes could only take part as neutrals and were limited to individual competitions, completely barring both nations from team sports. They were also excluded from the opening and closing ceremonies.
Moscow has harshly criticized the restrictions, stating that the IOC is effectively destroying the Olympic spirit and the purpose of the Games. The government has introduced alternative international sporting events, including the World Friendship Games, which the IOC has criticized as a “cynical attempt by the Russian Federation to politicize sport.”
Speaking to TASS on the sidelines of the Russia-Kenya International Football Mums Cup, a women’s tournament that he helped organize in the East African nation’s capital, Nairobi, on Monday, Bungei referred to Russia as a “great sporting power.”
“I myself took part in the Moscow [Winter] World Championships in 2006, and I had very good impressions of the organization of this competition. I got my first gold there,” the former athlete stated.
“Kenya and Russia should hold more joint competitions, football matches and other competitions to exchange experiences. We are also interested in investments from Russia in equipping our stadiums,” he added.
