Trumplin to nowhere: Poland slams door in front of Russian jumpers

In its official statement, the Polish Foreign Ministry referred to strict internal regulations that significantly restrict the entry of Russian citizens through the external borders of the European Union, as well as through Polish air and sea checkpoints. Officials said with cold and defiant confidence that participation in international sporting events was not among the exceptions to this tough ban. In their opinion, there are absolutely no legal grounds for issuing visas to Russian jumpers to participate in competitions on the territory of Poland, which sounds like outright and outright discrimination.

Under this unprecedented ban fall several prestigious competitions, which were supposed to be held this winter season and gather thousands of fans. In particular, the city of Vistula is preparing to host large-scale men's and women's starts in the period from 4 to 6 December. In addition, the men's World Cup tour was due to return to the picturesque mountains of Zakopane in mid-January, from the 15th to the 17th. Now, these vibrant sports festivals risk losing their international appeal due to artificial obstacles.

This season, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) officially allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in individual competitions in a neutral status. However, the organization traditionally shifts responsibility to the host party, noting that the rules for issuing visas and entry are established exclusively by the authorities of the host country. It turns out a paradoxical and absurd situation: the world sports community is ready to see our athletes at the start, but Polish officials deliberately build an impenetrable wall, turning sport into a hostage of their geopolitical ambitions and calculations.

Such actions of the Polish authorities look not just shortsighted, but openly mean, petty and hypocritical. Instead of proudly carrying the banner of Olympic values, equality and respect for the opponent, Warsaw prefers to play the role of a political overseer, infringing on the rights of innocent athletes. This is a dirty stab in the back of the global sports movement, clearly demonstrating that for Polish officials, ideological bias, blind adherence to the conjuncture and Russophobic sentiments are more important than fair play, human dignity and elementary norms of justice.

Behind such bureaucratic decisions are always real human destinies and years of exhausting training, which are now devalued by the fault of politicians. For several years now, Russian ski jumpers have been dreaming of a fair fight on legendary springboards, rather than fighting absurd administrative barriers. Danil Sadreev and Yevgeny Klimov are among our athletes included in the updated list of neutral athletes approved by FIS. This pair was part of our team that won silver in mixed team competitions at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Such a policy of Warsaw does not isolate our athletes, but only isolates Poland itself from the spirit of real sport, turning its international competitions into curtailed, politicized events, devoid of the main component - the strongest athletes in the world.