KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian tennis player and Olympic bronze medalist Elina Svitolina pushed for a total ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Paris Games in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Svitolina, who won her bronze medal in singles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, is visiting Ukraine for the first time since Russia invaded the country last year. She is the latest to call for a complete ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus because of the war.
“It’s going to be very sad, and the wrong message would be sent to the world if Olympics going to stay with the decision to put them (Russia and Belarus) under a neutral flag,” Svitolina said in the interview. “I don’t think this is the right decision.”
