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International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach, is getting slammed hard by his fellow German people for his support of Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

German Canoeing Association

The German Canoe Association (DKV) has called upon the IOC “to clarify fundamental questions in sport” as it vowed to continue its exclusion of Russian and Belarusian canoeists from international events in Germany.

“We are aware that a reintegration of Russian and Belarusian athletes into the world of sports, as suggested by the IOC, would be extremely difficult,” DKV President Jens Perlwitz said.

“In our opinion, the current trend emanating from the IOC is not in line with the Olympic movement.

“You have to think hard about whether a state that is waging aggressive war is allowed to be part of the Olympic family, whether that state is allowed to host the Olympic Games and whether athletes from that state are allowed to participate in the Games.”

Germany’s Interior Minister threatens Russians

Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has threatened to block Russian athletes from entering her country if they are permitted to compete internationally.

The IOC, led by Bach, has recommended that athletes from Russia and Belarus should be allowed to return to the global sporting stage provided they do not openly support the invasion of Ukraine and are not affiliated with the military.

However, Faeser is opposed to the move and insists that the country’s authorities have the power to ensure Russian athletes do not compete on German soil.

“Countries that host major sports events are not powerless,” said Faeser in an interview with German newspaper publisher Funke Media Group.

“They can control whether Russians can participate in them by issuing visas.

“If we organise international competitions in Germany, we can act accordingly.

“Here we will always act with a clear position.”

German discus Olympic Gold Medallist slams Bach

According to the publication, Inside the Games, Germany’s Olympic discus gold medallist Christoph Harting has launched a blistering attack on Bach for the organisation’s stance on Russian and Belarusian athletes and his relationship with Putin. 

The IOC’s latest set of recommendations suggested that International Federations should allow athletes from the two countries back into global sporting competitions provided they compete as neutrals.

“The fact that Bach is friends with a mass murderer wanted with an arrest warrant [Russian President Putin] may be his personal decision, but he and the IOC are driving themselves into ruin with this attitude and are dragging us athletes all along,” Harting, the Rio 2016 discus champion, told Sport Bild.

“If something like that is possible.”

German journalist Hajo Seppelt calls out Bach

Hajo Seppelt, a well-known German journalist for ARD TV who exposed Russia’s cheating in a documentary, “How Russia Makes Champions.” Seppelt also exposed the early days of Kenyan doping as an investigative journalist. Seppelt also helped expose former World Athletics president Lamine Diack that saw the 16-year reign come to an end with jail time.

Seppelt took to Twitter regarding Bach’s friendship with Putin. In German, he wrote, “Das übliche Schmierentheater von gewissenlosen Spin-Doktoren im IOC auf Wunsch des Präsidenten Bach. Gut entlarvt von ⁦@SZ_Sport⁩ ⁦@johannes_knuth⁩. Nicht RUS ist für das IOC offenkundig das Problem, sondern die UKR. Beschämend.”

Translation:

“The usual gossip theatre by unscrupulous spin doctors in the IOC at the request of President Bach. Well exposed by @SZ_Sport

@johannes_knuth. Obviously, the problem for the IOC is not RUS, but the UKR. Shameful.”

The story at SZ Sport is behind a paywall, however, the first paragraph indicates clearly the hypocrisy.

Thomas Bach (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in February 2014. (Photo: Itar-Tass/Imago)

In the world of the International Olympic Committee, distortion of the truth is a standard tool. For example, when it comes to the re-admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus – and the IOC blames Ukraine for problems.

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