The fight between the Ukrainian saber Olympic champion Olha Charlan and the Russian Anna Smirnova at the Fencing World Championships in Milan, which was not only eagerly awaited for sporting reasons, lasted less than seven minutes gross. Then Charlan had prevailed with 15:7. But the immediate aftermath lasted a good three-quarters of an hour and the aftermath of the battle will overshadow the entire championship – and will also continue to cause sport-political discussions for a long time to come. Charlan was disqualified for “unsportsmanlike conduct”. What happened?
What happened after the battle initially delayed the schedule of the saber competitions. Smirnova did not leave the planche after Charlan refused her the obligatory handshake after the battle. After a good twenty minutes of silence, a trainer brought her a chair, which she sat down on, scowling. Twenty minutes later, German official Dieter Lammer took her chair away and urged her in earnest to please end her sit-in. Five minutes later Smirnova had had enough. After her demonstration had lasted a good three quarters of an hour, the Russian finally cleared the red planche. The subsequent sword fight between the Egyptian Mohamed Hamza and the Pole Leszek Rajski could begin.
The duel between four-time individual world champion Charlan and Smirnova was – apart from tennis encounters – the first direct clash between an athlete from Ukraine and a Russian since the Russian army began the aggressive war against Ukraine.
“Important to our nation”
At the World Championships, fencers from Russia and Belarus are allowed to start as “neutral” athletes, at least in the individual competitions. The Ukrainian government then prohibited its athletes from competing in a direct duel. The Ukrainian epee fencer Igor Reislin gave up his fight against the Russian Wadim Anokhin on Wednesday – the medal candidate accepted his elimination without a fight, but submitted a certificate to be on the safe side, since politically motivated cancellations are not permitted according to the regulations and could result in bans.
Won, showed poise and therefore disqualified: Olha Charlan : Photo: Picture Alliance
The Ukrainian Sports Minister Wadym Hutzajt, himself an Olympic fencing champion with the “Unified Team” of the CIS countries in Barcelona in 1992, has meanwhile changed the specification: Now only fights between Ukrainian athletes and Russian athletes are prohibited “who represent the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus represent”.
Olha Charlan had previously announced that she would also like to fence against a Russian, although she is extremely dissatisfied with the policy of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which advocates the reintegration of Russian athletes into Olympic sport. The IOC decides “things totally against us,” she said: “It should stand by our side and ensure justice.” Nevertheless, the 32-year-old explained: “It is important for our nation that we don’t sit on the couch remain.” For the soldiers at the front who followed their battles, it was motivating when athletes showed their colours. She was promptly assigned Anna Smirnowa as an opponent in the first main round. She wanted to conquer her, but she didn’t want to shake hands. No sooner said than done, with all the consequences.