Stuttgart (dpa) – Elisabeth Seitz visibly stirs up the topic. It’s “madness”, says the top gymnast about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Biathlon Olympic champion Denise Herrmann finds the images of death, suffering and destruction that reach her every day “totally frightening”.
The Russian war of aggression changed the world – including that of sport. Athletes and associations from Russia and Belarus were largely isolated here. Rightly so, as the majority of top German athletes think. In the future, however, they hope for a return of the rivals and normality. As people they are dismayed, but as competitive athletes they are also driven by ambition.
“First of all, the sanctions, whether sporting or political, were just right,” says toboggan star Felix Loch of the German Press Agency with a view to the many exclusions – for example from the Paralympics in March or the upcoming World Cup in Qatar next winter . “For sure there will and must be a way back at some point.”
The ban “certainly also hit the wrong people”
The President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), Thomas Weikert, also sees it that way. “We can’t do sports without Russian athletes in the next few years,” he says. Especially since the ban “certainly partly hit the wrong people,” as the head of the umbrella organization notes.
Of course, you “can’t just let everything continue as normal,” emphasizes Seitz. In the long run, however, you always want to measure yourself against the best, say the gymnast and biathlete Herrmann in unison. And it is precisely in their sports that the teams from Russia and Belarus are among the best.
Or in ice hockey: The German team is playing its first test matches for the World Cup in Finland this week. Russia, joint world champions with Canada, will miss the tournament in May. The absence of the Russians should also have an impact on the swimming world championships in Budapest, which start in June. At the previous edition, they placed third in the all-discipline medal table and won all but one gold plaque in synchronized swimming.
The wrestlers just carried out their EM in the Hungarian capital. “All in all, their lack of level has already made itself felt,” says national coach Michael Carl about the Russians, who won 22 of 30 possible medals in the 2020 and 2021 tournaments. And there are many more sports in which the road to victory usually goes through Russian or Belarusian athletes. Or about Ukrainians – who are currently also often missing.
Seitz: “We are actually a gymnastics family”
Especially in fringe sports, the contact between the protagonists is often particularly intensive. You know each other from umpteen competitions and not infrequently for years. “We’re actually a gymnastics family,” says Seitz. This was also torn apart by the war. Will they ever get back together properly?
The Ukrainians experience great solidarity. Many athletes don’t really know how they should or want to behave towards their Russian competitors. Normally there is a lot of exchange on social media, reports Seitz. A number of Russian athletes have withdrawn from them for the time being.
“I’m already in regular contact with Ukrainians, they write to each other and ask how things are going,” says Rodler Loch, who has already traveled to the Ukrainian border as part of an aid operation. “I have little contact with Russian athletes.”
Russian associations complain before the Cas
He is in exchange with both Ukrainian and Russian coach colleagues, reports wrestling coach Carl. “They see the situation just like we do with great concern.” So far, however, only a few Russians have taken a public stance on the subject. Some appeal for peace, but hardly anyone condemns war.
Last week, Russian athletes and associations from seven sports appealed against their bans and exclusions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It shouldn’t have been the last. At the moment, however, it seems unlikely that the majority of Russians will return to world sport in the near future – be it as a participant in or organizer of international tournaments. She hopes that the war will end soon, says biathlete Herrmann. “It would be nice if things went back to how they were before as soon as possible.” However, the pictures from Ukraine do not indicate this.