Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock is against a possible return of swimmers from Russia and Belarus to international competitions.
“It’s kind of strange. The IOC and the world associations had spoken out against the starts of Russians and Belarusians. Now the political situation between Russia and Ukraine hasn’t changed at all and suddenly there’s this about-face,” said Wellbrock German press agency. “I see that as a problem and I can’t understand it.”
Because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, no athletes from Russia and Belarus are admitted to the World Championships, which begin this Friday in Fukuoka, Japan. However, the world association World Aquatics basically supports the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to let them start again as neutral athletes under certain conditions. A task force is dealing with the issue. At a congress during the World Cup, discussions will be held on how to deal with this in the future.
Training with Ukrainian Romanchuk
Wellbrock trains in Magdeburg together with the Ukrainian world-class swimmer Mykhailo Romanchuk. The 26-year-old worries about his family at home and fears for his career if Russian athletes are re-admitted.
“You can tell that from time to time. He’s only human and brings emotions to training,” Wellbrock said. The 25-year-old added: “We talk to each other a lot. It’s always a little group therapy for everyone, no matter what worries you bring with you. That’s what the training group is there for. But you don’t really notice it in terms of performance. I train every day take my hat off to this young fellow doing all this.” Romantschuk was last year, among other things, European champion over 1500 meters freestyle.
