A war of the words - Russia returns to the Olympic fold.

 

Sport is not the problem, world politics is.  Put another way, speaking as a feminist, only men could believe that the answer to any problem is to bomb, shoot, kill and maim.  And, speaking as a sports afficionado, only the IOC could believe that isolating nations from the Olympic mission of peace and friendship might solve the problem of war.  Is sport ‘war without the shooting’?   

 

Politics and sport do not mix, that’s for sure.  Am I the only one who found gymnastics without the Russkies just a little bit flat and boring?   Now we have them back and have to contemplate how their gymnasts will cope in a new age.  Can they revive their motivation and get back in time to compete as a team at the Olympics? 

 

The IOC started the sanction, and now it’s attempting to stop it.  They are the ones who hold the power, and their approach is mirrored by the sporting federations who are gradually letting Russia back into the fold.  The approach of these sporting administrative bodies is authoritarian - and somewhat simplistic.   Their announcements are bald and factual, brokering no argument.  The principles they refer to are legal, and no doubt they are planning for a time when legal challenges may be heard in international courts.  They won’t win any argument based on ethics or emotion (they might not lose, either).

 

The IOC couldn’t, frankly, continue with the sanctions while so many other countries are at war.  At present, if you follow the idea that acts of aggression and war exclude a nation from sport, gymnastics and the Olympics would lose such countries as the USA, Israel, and countless others.  Russia has been in the sin bin for four years, but not much has changed; the sporting sanctions haven’t had any effect, even if the financial sanctions on individuals such as Nikita Nagorny have taken their toll.

 

The Swedish Gymnastics Federation has responded to the lifting of sanctions with an announcement that balances legalese with ethics.  Everyone can act according to their own conscience is their key message, and if any of their gymnasts or officials don’t wish to participate in championships where the Russians are present, the Federation will support them.  The Swedish are offering a world where power might be in the hands of individuals if only they were prepared to give up their sport.    This is responsible activism, but how many will take it up and risk absenting themselves from the live blood of their sport, competition?

 

The issues of sport are very emotional, and hard to argue dispassionately.  The Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation has threatened a challenge to World Gymnastics’ lifting of sanctions, and that isn’t surprising.  The Ukrainians have strong arguments.  Why should they be forced to compete on the same floor as Russians?  Why should they have to listen to the Russian national anthem, witness the gymnasts celebrating gold medals, when their own gymnastics system – no, worse, their family - has been destroyed by bombing, grief and poverty?  We should expect - and have heard - loud noises coming from Ukraine.  But will they make any difference?

 

Russia, naturally, is shouting loud about the ‘victory’ of re-entering international sport.  Through its athletes and officials, the Russian Government boasts the upper hand, in a situation where the conduct of war is dragging them down.  The lifting of the ban and Russia’s return to international competition gives the athletes the opportunity to get back to what they do best; but how will the international community welcome them back?  The Russian state will want to make capital from Russia’s return to the podium, however things turn out.  Morale is in short supply, and Russian gold medals may improve their country’s mood, and bring back some positive feeling to Russia’s position in the international community.

 

Russia has been working hard to achieve a lifting of the ban , including restructuring their Federation (the decision to lift the ban is not only for artistic gymnastics, but for all the others sports that fall under the umbrella of the newly formed Russian Gymnastics Federation).  It has been a long process, involving both athletes and officials – remember World Gymnastics’ President Watanabe visiting Round Lake?  The warm embraces in the reception area, the friendly words in the media coverage?  World Champion Angelina Melnikova made a speech to World Gymnastics’ Executive Committee before they took their vote about the Russians’ return.  She is currently touring the East Coast of the USA for a working holiday, to do some shopping, to run some clinics – and, no doubt, to conduct some careful PR. 

 

Russia’s return to the international arena involves complex ethical boundaries.  Only a legal framework can offer clear structure to the decision.  Thus, the IOC,  the various sports federations who have backed the lifting of sanctions, and our own World Gymnastics have chosen to make a relatively simple statement that relies on the law as its overarching principle.  It’s unlikely that much will change, and the Russians are already visible and competing under their own flag.  But the War of Words also has already begun.   If sport is 'war without the shooting', expect to hear some bitter arguments over the next few years.