Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan was reinstated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after being disqualified from the 2023 Fencing World Championships for refusing to shake hands with her Russian opponent. The IOC said it made the decision “in light of the unique circumstances” of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
Fencing isn’t a sport that many Americans are familiar with, but it is very popular in France, Italy, and Eastern Europe.
Thursday, Ukrainian saber fencer Olga Kharlan faced off against a Russian fencing as a “neutral” competitor in the World Fencing Championship in Milan. The Russian, Anna Smirnova, was fencing as a “neutral” because the IOC has banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing as national teams due to Putin’s War in Ukraine; see Putin’s War, Week 73. Putin Eludes Arrest, Black Sea Grain Initiative Dies, and Ukraine’s Offense Continues to Grind Away. The match nearly didn’t happen. It wasn’t until Wednesday night that the Ukraine Sports Ministry permitted Ukrainian athletes to compete against Russian or Belarusians even if they were billed as “neutrals.”
Let me digress here for a second. I was a competitive epee fencer for about 15 years and was good enough to get a national ranking, and I’ll be the first to admit that saber…
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