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Zenith 2023 ↘ 2) Global Issues 20

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After the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia war,

issues in the international fencing arena.

‘Disqualified for Refusing Handshake’ Ukrainian fencer
Olga Kharlan

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February
2022, Russian and Belarusian athletes faced
sanctions that affected their participation in
international competitions. However, in January
of this year, the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) paved the way for Russian and Belarusian
athletes, despite their countries' actions, to
participate in international competitions that
could determine their qualification for the 2024
Paris Olympics. The IOC stated that "no athlete should lose their Olympic eligibility due to their
nationality." However, there is a limitation that these athletes can participate only under the status
of individual athletes representing a neutral country, not as representatives of their respective
nations. In accordance with this decision, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) granted this
qualification to 17 Russian athletes in May. Nevertheless, athletes from Russia and Belarus who
are affiliated with the military or central intelligence agencies, or who are part of teams associated
with these institutions, were not allowed to participate in Olympic qualifying events. Additionally,
they were also barred from competing in team events and group competitions.

On July 27, during the 2023 Fencing World Championships held in Milan, Italy, a Ukrainian athlete,
Olga Kharlan, was disqualified for refusing to shake hands with a Russian athlete, Anna Smirnov.

The UK's BBC reported that for the first time on the international fencing stage since the outbreak
of the Ukraine-Russia war, athletes from Ukraine and Russia met. On this day in Milan, Italy,
during the 2023 Fencing World Championships, Ukrainian fencing representative Olga Kharlan
competed against Anna Smirnova, who participated as a neutral athlete, in the women's sabre
64-round match. Kharlan dominated the match with a score of 15-7. However, the issue arose
during the post-match greetings. After the competition, Smirnova approached Kharlan to shake
hands. But Kharlan rejected Smirnova's handshake afterwards, instead offering her sabre (fencing
sword) to tap blades before leaving the piste (fencing strip). After Kharlan left the fencing strip,
Smirnova remained seated on the piste for 45 minutes, expressing her protest. As a result of the
incident, Kharlan was eventually disqualified from the competition. According to interviews with
the AFP news agency and others, Kharlan claimed that "Emmanuel Katsiadakis, the president
of the International Fencing Federation(FIE), had asserted that hitting swords instead of shaking
hands is permissible." She then expressed a resolute determination by stating, "My message
today is that we Ukrainian athletes are ready to face Russians on the sports field, but we will never
shake hands with them," The Ukrainian government immediately reacted with strong opposition to
Kharlan's disqualification. Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed his