FOR over a 12 months Putin has bragged about his personal model of the Olympic Video games – solely to abort them in a humiliating U-turn.
His grand plan to revive the Soviet Friendship Video games promised 5,500 athletes competing throughout 208 disciplines in 21 venues round Russia.
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It will be a “record-breaking” ceremony of sporting excellence, the world was informed.
Then Vlad stored us guessing, suspending the Friendship Video games not as soon as, however twice.
And now, the Kremlin has introduced the video games have been canned till additional discover.
The humiliating decree Vlad signed on Monday recommended the Video games needed to be postponed to “shield the rights of athletes and sports activities organisations”.
However a Russia-North Korea wrestling present down will not be utterly off the playing cards simply but.
The official assertion stated the video games are solely cancelled till Vlad makes a “particular resolution” to carry them again.
When Russia was “frozen out” of the Paris Olympics over its evil invasion of Ukraine, nobody actually thought that Putin would take the information graciously.
However neither did they anticipate what got here subsequent.
Vlad determined to revive one thing referred to as the Friendship Video games first dreamt up by the USSR.
The Soviet Union hosted the primary Friendship Video games in 1984 – after which determined by no means to place them on once more.
The Video games – dubbed Friendship-84 – have been in response to the US and a few of its allies boycotting the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
The USSR determined to host an alternative choice to the 1984 LA Video games – a counter Video games.
Friendship-84 represented the USSR’s different world view to America and was attended by Communist allies – together with North Korea, Cuba and East Germany.
While Friendship-84 was not of the identical magnitude because the Olympics, it was a serious sporting occasion that attracted among the greatest athletes from across the globe.
The retired English lengthy jumper Joyce Hepher competed within the Friendship Video games, and appears again upon them as “my Olympics”.
Vlad had comparable plans for the Video games this time round, and pencilled within the competitors for September 2024 – instantly after the Paris Olympics.
In March this 12 months, the Worldwide Friendship Affiliation (IFA), organising the video games, promised a “record-breaking event by way of its dimension and the preparation time”.
However the remainder of the world didn’t share Russia’s enthusiasm for the plan.
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) blasted the Video games as “a cynical try by the Russian Federation to politicise sport”.
James Macleod, director of Nationwide Olympic Committees (NOC) Relations, described the IFA as “a political organisation funded by the Russian authorities”.
Issues started to unravel for Vlad in July when he broke the information he was suspending the Video games till 2025.
Apparently, this was to “maximise athlete and official availability”.
It appeared the IFA had lastly twigged it was a foul concept to host a garbage model of the Olympics immediately after the actual Olympics.
Then in August, we heard they wouldn’t occur till 2026.
The full reversal unveiled on Monday will little doubt go away Vlad red-faced.
Putin, a eager judo practitioner, is determined for Russia to be seen as a participant on the world sporting stage.
He was thrilled that Russia hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup however suffered a bruised ego when the Russian Grand Prix was pulled.
As Vlad continues to horrify the world together with his slaughter marketing campaign in Ukraine, it appears unlikely Russia is about to be welcomed again into the worldwide sporting fold.
It’s again to the drafting board for unhappy Vlad.
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