Athlete from Russia Poludkina said she refused the offer to play for Syria
Russian javelin thrower Karina Poludkina spoke about the proposal to join the Syrian national team. Her words are quoted by TASS.
“There was an offer to speak for Syria from the national Olympic Committee of this country, but I refused, although it was profitable from an economic point of view,” the athlete said. The athlete stressed that she would only compete for Russia.
Earlier, Poludkina and six other Russian athletes were announced as representatives of Syria at the 2023 Pan-Arab Games. Their names have been changed on the tournament page. The Russian Ministry of Sports confirmed the change of citizenship of only two athletes – gymnast Anastasia Maximova and judoka Milana Mugu – and called the rest of the information untrue.
At the end of February 2022, most sports organizations suspended Russians and Belarusians from tournaments on the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee.
Source: Lenta
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