The coach of the Polish national rowing team resisted the suspension of the Russians

"I personally am not against rivalry with Russians and Belarusians. Moreover, every day I watch the participation of players from these countries in Grand Slam tennis tournaments or the ATP Tour", - Interfax quotes Kryk's statement.

He added that as a coach and athlete, he also would not want anyone to exclude him from the competition for some political reasons.

Kryk explained this by saying that a career in sports is fleeting: it is limited to 10-15 years.

"You can be a businessman or a journalist until retirement, until the age of 65 or even a little longer. Unfortunately, the athlete has a narrow time frame, the Olympics are held every four years", - he said.

Earlier it was reported that after the start of the military special operation of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) accused Russia of violating the Olympic truce and did not allow athletes from the Russian Federation to The Paralympics.

In addition, the IOC advised sports federations to do the same when organizing other international competitions. Many followed this advice. However, in 2023, a number of organizations began to refuse to remove Russians who disapprove of military actions from participating in tournaments.