Tatiana Minina, a Russian taekwondo athlete who supports the war in Ukraine, has qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Following the qualification last Saturday of Maksim Khramtsov, another Putin supporter, Tatiana Minina’s participation would further discredit the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which seems unable to enforce its own rules.
Minina is a member of the Russian military, violating the IOC’s regulations for the participation of Russian athletes under a neutral banner.
She has been awarded by Sergey Shoigu, Russia’s Defense Minister, for “services rendered to the Russian army,” and by Alexey Teksler, governor of the Chelyabinsk region, who is sanctioned in multiple countries for his close ties to the Kremlin and his role in Russia’s military mobilization.
Furthermore, she actively likes pro-war and anti-Ukrainian posts on Instagram.
Not only does her participation violate the IOC’s rules, but it is also morally UNACCEPTABLE to welcome individuals like her to what should be a celebration of peace at the Olympic Games.
It is high time to recognize that NO Russian athlete is truly “neutral”!
Let us not allow Russia and Belarus to turn the 2024 Olympics into the Blood Games.
#BloodGames2024
