No Olympics for Russian swimming star Kliment Kolesnikov, who condemns ‘unacceptable’ conditions

Becoming an Olympic champion was the lifelong dream of Russian Kliment Kolesnikov, but not at any cost. At 23, this rising swimming star will not attend the 2024 Paris Olympics due to “unacceptable” IOC conditions.

“No, I’m not sad,” says this tall brunette with a shy smile, a bronze and silver medalist at the Tokyo Games. “Today, in the current conditions, it is unacceptable for me” to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games, assures Kliment Kolesnikov in an interview with AFP on the sidelines of a recent swimming competition in St. Petersburg, the former imperial capital.

In early December, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Games (July 26–August 11) on the condition that they compete under a neutral flag, excluding team events, and do not actively support the Russian offensive in Ukraine and did not overcome the qualification barrier. Today, according to the IOC, there are only 11 people in this case: eight Russians and three Belarusians against about sixty Ukrainians.

“Black Sheep”

If Russia, which has condemned the “discriminatory” criteria, has not yet decided whether it recommends its athletes go to Paris, then Kliment Kolesnikov has already made his choice. “I decided that it would not be possible for me personally to participate in the Olympic Games under these conditions,” said the specialist in the 100m backstroke, 100m freestyle and 50m freestyle, explaining that he did not want to be the “black sheep” . “among other athletes who will arrive in the French capital next summer.

“The other guys are participating, competing as if nothing had happened, and we will not have the right to have either a delegation, or a flag, or an anthem,” adds the world record holder in the 50-meter distance, while young athletes gather around him to ask for an autograph. I have always prepared for the Olympics, of course I would like to go. Of course, I would like to win an Olympic gold medal. But given the current situation, I risk returning to my country with this medal and then seeing it taken away. »

New world records

Expecting a change in the situation, Kliment Kolesnikov explains that he wants to concentrate on “new world records.” The number of competitions organized in Russia has increased significantly since Russian athletes were suspended from international competition following the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022.

“All the time we compete within the country, the guys are improving and breaking records. I also manage to break world records,” emphasizes Kolesnikov, who in July set the world best result in the 50-meter backstroke (23.55) over a long distance during a competition in Russia. We swim and our results remain competitive with athletes from other countries. “And the Russian added: “But if someday the conditions (of the IOC) change” and the Russian authorities decide that “in the name of the Fatherland we must win medals for our country” at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, “of course I will go.”