"The Will to Win" Sports Diplomacy: Ukraine Officially to Participate in Paris Olympics
Ukraine will officially participate in the next Olympic Games in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. A statement to this effect was published on the website of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.
The official announcement of Ukraine's participation in the Olympic Games in Paris came after a meeting attended by the head of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Matviy Bidnyi, and the president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Vadym Hutzayt, with journalists. During the meeting, they discussed the details of Ukraine's participation in the Olympics and announced the team's participation in the tournament.
During the meeting, the participants stressed the "special significance" of the Olympics for Ukraine. They also demonstrated the team's slogan for the tournament, The Will to Win.
In addition, the meeting highlighted the terrible consequences that Ukrainian sport has suffered during Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine:
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, more than 450 Ukrainian athletes have been killed.
The Russian army has destroyed or damaged more than 500 sports facilities, including 15 Olympic training bases.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports and the NOC of Ukraine noted the importance of continuing the fight against the admission of Russian and Belarusian citizens to the Olympic Games. Currently, athletes from these countries are allowed to participate in certain sports in the status of "neutral".
As The Gaze previously wrote, the presidents of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - Edgars Rinkēvičs, Gitanas Nausėda and Alar Karis, respectively - are demanding that the International Olympic Committee's decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympics in Paris be cancelled. During a meeting in Tallinn, they expressed their disapproval of the IOC's decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Games without using national symbols such as the flag, coat of arms, and anthem. The presidents of the Baltic States consider this decision unacceptable and are even considering a boycott of the Olympic Games if Russians and Belarusians are allowed to compete.