IOC takes Putin’s highest Olympic award, taekwondo bond his black belt | Sport

It concerns the Olympic Order, a special prize that the IOC presents to people in recognition of their contributions to the sport. At the time, Putin was awarded the Gold Olympic Order, the highest award in the Olympic movement.

It is one of the measures taken by the IOC in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, the IOC board called on all international sports associations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international competitions and tournaments.

It is not only Putin who will lose his Olympic Order because of “the very serious violations of the Olympic file and charter by the Russian government.” It also applies to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Chernishenko and Deputy Chief of Staff Dmitri Kozak, from whom the Gold Olympic Order they were awarded in 2014 are being taken away.

Taekwondo Union removes President Putin’s black belt

Russian President Vladimir Putin is losing more and more sports awards. After the International Olympic Committee stripped him of the highly prestigious Gold Olympic Order on Monday, the global taekwondo association followed suit with the announcement that Putin no longer holds the black belt.

The Russian head of government received the ninth dan, the highest degree in oriental martial arts, in 2013 when he visited Seoul in South Korea, where the headquarters of the teakwondo association is located. “World Taekwondo strongly condemns the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which go against our vision that peace is more precious than victory,” the union said in a statement.

The international judo association suspended Putin as honorary president and ambassador on Sunday. The Russian president is an avid judoka himself and has a black belt.