2023-10-06 16:43:23
Arsen Julfalakyan spoke at the IOC Athletes Forum.
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The IOC International Athlete Forum was recently held in Lausanne. Various topics were discussed at the meeting, including the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from the competition.
It seems that everyone was given a chance to speak out, except for those who, since the spring of 2022, have been sitting at home almost entirely and cannot compete. But that’s okay. All those who were asked to speak used general phrases without offering anything specific to resolve the situation. They also didn’t try to convey why exactly the Russians and Belarusians should or shouldn’t participate in the competition, but they weren’t particularly memorable.
Only one person had words that thundered loudly. Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler Arsen Julfalakyan, using his personal example of grief and misfortune, was able to explain why it is wrong to deprive athletes of the opportunity to perform. Maybe he didn’t convince those who were against it, but he found his way into the hearts of people who were in solidarity with him.
“I want to see as many athletes as possible. My name is Arsen Julfalakyan, I represent the United World of Wrestling (UWW), world champion, Olympic silver medalist. It’s very hard for me to say, I honestly wasn’t going to compete here, but after all this discussion I I couldn’t sit back and remain silent.
I am from Armenia, and now there is a war in my country. 120 thousand Armenians are leaving their homes, their historical land. We have killed a large number of people. Officially, we don’t even know how much. But I don’t want to talk too much about this and make you upset. I wanted to share this information with colleagues from Ukraine and other countries so that you understand how clearly I understand the situation. I hate war, it happened to me, and I know what it is. I feel it on my skin. It’s very difficult for me to control myself. They say men don’t cry and you have no idea how I feel. I try to smile so as not to show what is happening inside me. I am very sorry that I, so strong and famous, cannot do anything to stop the war with Azerbaijan in my country and help my compatriots.
What I want to convey to all of you, very famous people in your countries, to the IOC President. Don’t ban sports. Put pressure on the governments of your countries, on the politicians who are waging wars. But don’t punish athletes who have no other profession. They asked me: have you contacted Ukrainian athletes? Yes, I talked to many athletes from Ukraine, because I have friends there. I spent many years in Ukraine, it is a country very close to me. The same applies to Russia. I communicated with athletes from both Russia and Belarus. And I know how they suffer – athletes from all these countries. From my country, from African countries…
My other message: can you imagine what will happen if you “ban” all young athletes? What will be left for them – only crime? What else will they do? Western countries have “banned” education, banned culture. Now the sport will be “banned”. What will happen to the future generation? How will we look them in the eyes after this? How will I explain to my comrades and colleagues why they are prohibited from competing?
A week ago, the World Wrestling Championships took place in Serbia. A lot of Russians and Belarusians performed there – under the flags of other countries: Albania, Macedonia, Slovenia. They competed with the Ukrainians, and we didn’t have a single conflict. We also had athletes in a neutral status. Armenians and Azerbaijanis fought on the same mat. At that moment there was a war going on. How to explain why Armenian and Azerbaijani athletes can compete with each other, but Russian and Ukrainian ones cannot?
Sports are not a battlefield. Sport should be an island of peace, an opportunity through which we can build bridges. Yes, it may sound idealized, but if we destroy this island too, we may not find any solution at all. We need to put pressure on politicians, but not on athletes. They have no other profession other than sports. If we destroy their dream, how will we explain it to them later?
The representative of Germany noted earlier that we must understand why we are doing this. I want to say: how do we explain to women why we prohibit them from speaking if they have nothing to do with the war? Yes, if athletes are involved in wars, if they are guilty of something, in all countries, we must punish them. And for this we have IOC recommendations. But why punish athletes who are innocent of anything, who do not understand politics, who cannot even vote in elections because one of them is under 18 years old? But we punish everyone. And in my opinion, this is unfair. Think about it. Once again I appeal to everyone, including Mr. President of the IOC: put pressure on politicians to stop wars!” Sportball24 quoted the wrestler as saying.
Julfalakyan has been living with this position for a long time. Even at the spring hearings of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the participation of athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports in international competitions, the wrestler clearly stated: no one should be deprived of the opportunity to compete.
“I have never used my position at various international sports conferences or meetings to call for a complete ban on Azerbaijani athletes. And I’m not going to do that here either.
Unfortunately, too many people are suffering and dying. This was or is still happening in some countries such as Iraq, Yugoslavia, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Afghanistan and many others. Can anyone remember a case where all the athletes in a country were disqualified due to an armed conflict?
Julfalakyan is a world and European champion, a winner of these competitions, as well as a silver medalist at the 2012 Olympics. His father is the famous Soviet wrestler Levon Julfalakyan. At one time he won the World Cup, the European Championship, and the Olympic Games.
In Russia, fans of Greco-Roman wrestling are very familiar with Julfalakyan. At the Games in London, the Armenian met Roman Vlasov in the final. And there it was Vlasov who defeated him. Then he encouraged Arsen at the award ceremony when he was grieving his defeat. Vlasov was the one who expressed gratitude to Julfalakyan for speaking out.
“Arsen’s speech at the recent IOC International Athlete Forum, which considered the issue of admitting athletes from Russia and Belarus to international tournaments, touched me to the core. It was so sincere and ringing. I fully agree with every word he said, I pay tribute to the man who considered it necessary to say his word in our support. I wish Arsen Levonovich good health and God’s grace, all possible success in his good activities and work,” Vlasov told RIA Novosti.
Victoria Dmitrieva
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