Russian athlete's Olympic future uncertain amid ongoing debate
The participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in this year's Olympic Games is causing a lot of discussion. Recently, the situation was further heated by Veronika Kudermetova, who, in an interview with journalists from Sports.ru, spoke about her doubts related to competing in Paris.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, athletes from that country and Belarus have been subject to numerous sanctions. These also apply to the upcoming Olympic Games: teams from these countries cannot compete in team sports, and other athletes can only participate in Paris under a neutral flag.
From time to time, Russian athletes make public statements declaring that they will opt out of competing in the Olympics. This topic resurfaced thanks to the 27-year-old Veronika Kudermetova, preparing in Paris for the Roland Garros Grand Slam.
The tennis player gave an interview to journalists from the Russian portal Sports.ru. The conversation was about this year's Olympic Games. The 27-year-old admitted that she is currently unsure about participating in the event.
The Olympics seem close, but it's still too early to predict. For us, athletes from Russia, everything is unclear. Surely everyone desires it, but no one knows what will ultimately happen. The situation can change in many ways, I try not to think about it - she said just before the start at Roland Garros.
In her further statements, Kudermetova elaborated on her thoughts. She explained that her participation in the Olympics depends on how athletes from Russia and Belarus will be treated during the event. The 27-year-old emphasized that she would compete if athletes from these countries were not isolated from the other participants during the Olympics.
If, however, the conditions are too harsh, they will isolate us, restrict us, if the conditions for athletes from Russia and Belarus are inappropriate, then I will not want to compete. If everything is like in Tokyo (Kudermetova is referring to the 2021 Olympic Games - editor's note), and the conditions created for neutral athletes are the same as for others, then of course, I want to compete. But if it is different, it is unlikely that I will play - she declared.
Kudermetova was quickly eliminated from the competition on Roland Garros' courts. On Sunday (May 28, at 9:00 AM EDT), the 29th-seeded Russian lost 2-6, 4-6 to the Czech Marie Bouzková.
