Fencers Bida and Lokhanov will be able to compete for the United States if they have citizenship
Fencers Sergei Bida, Violetta Bida and Konstantin Lokhanov, who escaped from Russia, will be able to compete for the US team at the Olympic Games if they have citizenship of the country. The conditions were named
TASS in the press service of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“We refer you to Rule 41 of the Olympic Charter, which states that any participant in the Olympic Games must be a citizen of the country of the National Olympic Committee taking part in such competition,” the statement said.
It is noted that issues related to determining the country that an athlete can represent at the Games are resolved by the IOC Executive Committee.
Earlier it became known about the desire of fencers to obtain US citizenship. Sergei Bida and Lokhanov intend to qualify for the national team and go to the 2024 Olympic Games.
On December 26, 2023, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put the Bida fencers on the wanted list. They face up to ten years in prison under Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Unauthorized abandonment of a unit or place of service”). At the time of his departure, Sergei Bida was listed in Dynamo Moscow and had the rank of ensign of the Russian Guard. His wife was previously a serviceman of the Ministry of Defense in the capital’s CSKA. Sabbatist Lokhanov moved to the USA in 2022.
Source: Lenta
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