MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th August, 2021) Moscow will not ignore situations when politics was prioritized over objective and fair assessment of the performance of Russian athletes, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team won silver in the group all-around, while on Saturday gymnast Dina Averina came in second in the individual all-around final. This marked the first time since 1996 when Russia did not win gold in the discipline. The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has launched a formal appeal with the International Gymnastics Federation concerning refereeing in Averina's case.
"Of course, we will not ignore situations where politics turned out to be of higher priority than an objective and fair assessment of the performance of Russian athletes. The conclusion is clear and obvious to everyone. Such attitudes toward our athletes are unacceptable," Chernyshenko said in a statement.
He noted that the Tokyo Olympics became some of the most difficult competitions for the Russian athletes due to the pandemic, special training conditions, the absence of spectators and other circumstances that put additional pressure on them. Chernyshenko congratulated the team and expressed his gratitude to the coaches "who have invested their soul in the athletes" and "helped them overcome difficulties during harsh training."
The official stated that the government, together with the sports ministry, will further make a detailed analysis of the Russian athletes' performances and take measures to support disciplines "where better results could be shown." Russia will also work on increasing the number of world-class competitions held in the country, according to Chernyshenko.
Russia's team, competing under the ROC flag, came in fifth in the gold-medal count of the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo with 20 gold medals, 28 silver medals and 23 bronze ones. In the overall medal count, Russia ranks third with 71 medals.
