Top Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan was disqualified from a ranking event due to her decision to not shake hands with a Russian fencer she had beaten. The IOC has, however, made a special exception to grant the fencer a spot at the upcoming Paris games. The IOC chief himself intervened in the situation and reiterated that the organization is sympathetic to Kharlan and her decision to take make a political statement during the Russian invasion.
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Kharlan was banned from the World Championships in Italy after refusing to shake hands with her opponent. According to the Fencing Federation rules if an athlete refuses to shake hands with their opponent then they receive a black card and face expulsion. The initial punishment handed to Kharlan was per Federation guidelines. It was a difficult decision for the 32-year-old to make, as missing the World Championships would hamper her chance to accumulate enough points to qualify for the Paris Games.
On Friday the International Fencing Foundation came out and said that while they stood behind their initial punishment for Kharlan, they would allow the Ukrainian to compete in the women’s team sabre event. The Federation also reiterated that they had met with the IOC and found the decision to reinstate Kharlan to be within the Olympic spirit.
IOC chief expresses full support for Kharlan
A significant moment in the saga came when the IOC chief Thomas Bach, who was himself a fencer, made a statement of full support to Kharlan and said that she would be able to represent her country at the Olympic Games.
In a letter to Kharlan, he wrote, “The war against your country, the suffering of the people of Ukraine, the uncertainty about your participation at the World Fencing Championships in Milan, the difficult inner conflicts that you and many of your fellow Ukrainian athletes may have, and then the events that unfolded yesterday.”
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Bach also stated that the IOC would allow Kharlan to have an automatic spot at the Paris Games due to her unique situation. Kharlan stated, “This is the moment when you see no hope, feel unbearable pain and despair, and think you are all alone. And then a whole multi-million country of Heroes stands up for you and changes everything in your life. I knew what I was risking, but I didn’t expect that it would shake up the entire Ukrainian society and that everyone would join the fight with me”.
