The Russian Wrestling Federation has issued a statement declining the Olympic invitation, meaning that no Russian wrestlers will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, regardless of their style or status with the IOC.
Previously, many of Russia's athletes had been deemed ineligible to compete by the Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Committee for not adhering to IOC-approved guidelines related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia was able to approve 10 wrestlers in men's freestyle, women's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, but will now boycott the entire Olympics.
“The Russian Wrestling Federation, athletes and coaches of the Russian national teams in freestyle, women's and Greco-Roman wrestling will not submit to the instructions of politicians and will not allow them to destroy the spirit of the Russian team. We do not accept the unsportsmanlike selection principles adopted by the International Olympic Committee when drawing up the list of eligible athletes, the purpose of which is to undermine the principle of unity of our team.” – Russian Wrestling Federation
The full statement from the Russian Wrestling Federation can be read below.
Official statement from RWF
From August 5 to 11, a wrestling tournament will be held in Paris (France) as part of the Olympic Games. Russian wrestlers won 16 of the 18 Olympic spots, despite the pressure of sanctions, unfair restrictions and strict entry screening, which meant that many team leaders, including talented young people and well-known world leaders and Olympic winners, were not allowed to participate.
In mid-June, the International Olympic Committee published a list of athletes approved to participate, but it included only 10 Russian wrestlers, six of whom were far from holding the rank of Russian team leader.
During the qualifying rounds, Russian wrestlers earned the right to participate in the Olympics in a fair and uncompromising fight in accordance with the provisions of the Olympic Charter, the World Anti-Doping Agency and the United World Wrestling Charter, which sets out all the conditions for sport-based selection.
However, the International Olympic Committee stood in the way of Abdulrashid Sadulaev's path to a third Olympic summit, and denied Russian wrestlers Zaurbek Sidakov, Zaur Uguev and Musa Evloev the opportunity to compete, denying United World Wrestling its final chance to make the Olympics its strongest competition.
In this regard, the Executive Committee of the Russian Wrestling Federation held a lengthy meeting with the coaches of the Russian national teams in freestyle, women's and Greco-Roman wrestling, as well as athletes who had received invitations to the Olympic Games, and came to a unanimous decision to refuse their participation in the Olympic Games.
The Russian Wrestling Federation, athletes and coaches of the Russian national teams in freestyle, women's and Greco-Roman wrestling will not submit to the guidance of politicians and will not allow the spirit of the Russian team to be undermined. We do not accept the unsportsmanlike selection principles adopted by the International Olympic Committee when drawing up the list of eligible athletes, aimed at undermining the principle of unity of our team.
The Russian Wrestling Federation has always accepted and will continue to accept fair and uncompromising wrestling in open and equal relations. We are sure that the majority of the wrestling world supports us. Any sensible person should understand that the status of the Olympic Games as the most important sporting event is in doubt, and that wrestling competitions without Russian athletes are incomplete and champions will not get the satisfaction of winning the Olympic Games.
