UKRAINIAN FENCER Olga Kharlan has been disqualified for refusing to shake hands with Russian Anna Smirnova at the World Fencing Championships.
Kharlan,
the first fencer to face a Russian or Belarusian since the former's full-scale
invasion of her homeland, won 15-7 in Milan.
The
32-year-old rejected Smirnova's handshake afterwards, instead offering her
sabre to tap blades.
It
led to an appeal from Smirnova, who staged a 45-minute sit-down protest.
"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," Kharlan said
afterwards.
Smirnova,
competing under a neutral flag, remained standing on the piste following the
first-round contest before being handed a chair as her protest continued.
Her
appeal looked to have been dismissed, with Kharlan still showing as through to
the last 32 when Smirnova eventually walked off after being spoken to by an
official, allowing the next bout to start.
However,
the results later showed that Kharlan, a four-time individual world champion
and four-time Olympic medallist, had been disqualified from the women's sabre
individual.
Kharlan
claimed that Emmanuel Katsiadakis, the president of the International Fencing
Federation (FIE), had assured her that it was "possible" not to shake
hands and offer a touch of her blade instead.
"I
thought I had his word, to be safe, but apparently, no," Kharlan added.
The
International Olympic Committee (IOC) has called upon sports federations to
handle Ukrainian athletes and Russians competing as neutrals with "the
necessary degree of sensitivity" following Kharlan's disqualification,
adding: "We continue to stand in full solidarity with the Ukrainian
athletes and the Olympic community of Ukraine."
In
fencing, shaking hands is part of the rules of the sport and refusal to do so
results in a black card and expulsion.
Kharlan's
scheduled last-32 opponent, Bulgaria's Yoanna Ilieva, advanced as a result.
Ukrainian
fencers have not competed where rivals from Russia and Belarus have been
permitted to enter as neutral athletes since Russia's full-scale invasion in
February 2022. Belarus is a key Russian ally and served as a launchpad for the
invasion.
However,
the Ukrainian government updated its position on Wednesday, granting permission
for its athletes to compete against Russians and Belarusians who participate as
neutrals, as is the case at the World Fencing Championships.
The photo features Anna Smirnova, the Russian fencer who Ukrainian Olha #Kharlan refused to shake hands with at the World Championships after winning a fair bout. As you can see, she openly admires the Russian army, which is killing Ukrainians and destroying our cities. The… pic.twitter.com/je1o94n3OX
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) July 27, 2023
Mykhailo
Podolyak, the adviser to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, shared a
photo on his Twitter feed which
appeared to show Anna Smirnova with a Russian soldier.
"The
photo features Anna Smirnova, the Russian fencer who Ukrainian Olga Kharlan
refused to shake hands with at the World Championships after winning a fair
bout," Podolyak said.
"As
you can see, she openly admires the Russian army, which is killing Ukrainians
and destroying our cities. The International Fencing Federation (FIE)
disqualified the Ukrainian representative for not shaking hands with the
Russian," he added.
"FIE
should this be taken as a position? Doesn't Russian money smell of blood?"
Mykhailo
Illiashev, president of Ukraine's fencing federation (NFFU), said the
organisation would be appealing against Kharlan's disqualification.
Kharlan's
Ukrainian team-mate - Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Igor Reizlin - was scheduled
to take to the piste against Russian Vadim Anokhin on Wednesday but did not
present himself, subsequently forfeiting.