Sports Ukrainian fencer
After a scandal with a Russian – the association abolishes the obligation to shake hands
As of: 6:15 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
Ukrainian fencing athlete held out a saber to a Russian opponent instead of a hand
Ukrainian fencing athlete Olha Charlan held out her saber to Anna Smirnova after her victory at the World Fencing Championships in Milan. She didn’t want to shake hands with the Russian and was disqualified. The Ukrainian presidency called the disqualification “shameful”.
Because she refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent, the Ukrainian and Olympic champion Olga Kharlan was disqualified at the World Championships in Milan. International pressure now apparently led to the international fencing federation changing its rules.
The international fencing federation FIE abolishes the previously obligatory handshake for opponents after the fight. This emerges from a response from the association to a “mirror” request. “As the world faces major and important challenges, the FIE is adapting the rules in the general interest of the athletes and the federations, while also respecting our sport,” a federation spokesman quoted FIE Executive Committee member Bruno Gares in the statement.
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The decision was apparently made as a result of international pressure after the FIE had come under massive criticism for the disqualification of Ukrainian Olga Kharlan at the World Championships in Milan. However, Gares did not respond to the specific reason for the rule change.
Refused to shake hands with the Russian
After her victory against the Russian Anna Smirnova on Thursday, the Olympic champion Kharlan refused to shake hands with her opponent and was then excluded from further competition. The decision had caused international outrage in view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
In Milan: Olga Charlan from the Ukraine leaves the hall after her victory
Source: dpa/Tibor Illyes
Olga Kharlan
Those: OLGA KHARLAN via REUTERS
According to the rules of fencing, the handshake with the opponent was previously required. According to FIE Executive Committee member Gares, it will be replaced by a simple salute: “At the end of the bout, the athletes return to an en guard position and salute their opponents, the referee and the audience with their weapons. This is the end of the fight,” the statement to the “Spiegel” quoted the official. Kharlan herself had demanded an adjustment to the rules after her disqualification.
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Charlan was the first Ukrainian athlete ever – outside of tennis – to compete against a Russian athlete since the beginning of the Ukraine war. The Ukrainian Presidency called the athlete’s disqualification “shameful”. At the World Championships, fencers from Russia and Belarus are allowed to start in individual competitions as neutral athletes.
Charlan had announced in an AFP interview before the World Cup that he would refuse a handshake like in tennis. After Charlan’s victory, neutral fencer Smirnova held out her left hand to the Ukrainian. However, Charlan only shook his head briefly and held out the saber to her instead.
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