Olympic champion urged to allow eligible fencers to compete in tournaments

Olympic champion in saber fencing Yana Yegoryan spoke about the situation with the admission of Russians to international tournaments. She is quoted by TASS.

Yegoryan urged to allow Russians who received permission from the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to compete. “I have always said that our business is to fence, the rest is up to our coaches, federations and all other leading people. Therefore, the decision – to speak or not – should be joint, ”she said.

The athlete shared that for her non-admission to tournaments is not so critical. “I let go of this situation, since I have already taken place as an athlete, I have achieved my heights,” she noted and added that fencers with a permit have the right to their sports future.

Earlier, the head of the Russian Fencing Federation, Ilgar Mammadov, said that domestic athletes would not compete in international tournaments. “We are not going to divide our team,” he explained.

In March, the FIE allowed Russian athletes to participate in tournaments in a neutral status. However, the organization later denied entry to many athletes, including Olympic champions Egoryan, Sofia Velikaya, Sofia Pozdnyakova and Olga Nikitina.