Canada objects to IOC loosening restrictions on Russia

Canada objects to IOC loosening restrictions on Russia DYLAN ROBERTSON OTTAWA THE CANADIAN PRESS PUBLISHED YESTERDAY Open this photo in gallery: Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, on Friday, May 1. ETHAN CAIRNS/THE CANADIAN PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Canada objected on Thursday to the International Olympic Committee loosening its suspension on Russian athletes. The move, announced Tuesday, would apply to the 2028 games in Los Angeles, opening the door for Russian athletes to compete, but the IOC says it will decide later if they could do it with the Russian flag and anthem. “I am appalled by the IOC’s decision,” wrote Secretary of State for sport Adam van Koeverden, a former Olympian. “The countries of Russia and Belarus should not be represented in international sports competitions while Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable full-scale invasion against Ukraine continues,” he wrote. He added Canada will not let Russian athletes be part of any domestic sports events funded by Ottawa. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand suggested the IOC decision can “risk normalizing Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.” The IOC executive board recommended suspending Russia and Belarus following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Belarus allowing Russia to use it as a military staging ground. Several other international sport governing bodies, including FIFA, followed suit, while some allowed Russian athletes to compete only as neutral individuals, without the Russian flag. Some have since lifted those too, including World Aquatics, which began allowing Russian senior athletes to compete in swimming competitions in April. Since October 2023, the IOC began vetting Russian and Belarusian athletes for military and security agency ties, and allowed some to play as “individual neutral athletes” with a generic banner. About 20 athletes competed that way at the Winter Olympics in Italy in February. As of this week, that vetting is no longer required, with the IOC provisionally lifting restrictions. “We don’t want to hold athletes accountable for the actions of their governments,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said at an online news conference this week. A two-time Olympic gold medallist swimming for Zimbabwe, Coventry said it was a fair decision and…