News Desk

The Advocate Post: Whilst sailing down a river near Kremlin, a reporter talks to Mariya Lasitskene, an Olympic champion of Tokyo 2020. She finds herself in the strangest position in an event combining athletics, fashion, and music.

Mariya isn’t in Paris to defend her Olympic high jump title because Team Russia is banned from the Games due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. World Athletics has restricted Russian track and field stars from competing, even as neutral participants. This exclusion deeply affects Mariya, as she admits she can’t even follow the athletics at these Olympics. She said that “it’s too painful”, and that they should be there at one of the greatest events in the world.

The Russian media, however, is critical of Paris 2024. Newspapers have derided the Games from the start. After an opening ceremony featuring drag artists and a perceived parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, MoskovskyKomsomolets labeled the Paris Olympics as “The Games of Satan,” while Argumenty i Fakty called them “The Olympics of Hell.” It seems Russia might win gold in expressing disdain.

Russian MP Mariya Butina shares her disappointment stating, “I thought the Olympic Games were about sport. No longer. It’s about politics, religion, everything. It’s very sad because the original idea of the Olympics was to create peace.” When they pointed out that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine contradicts this very idea of peace, she responds, “Russia has been protecting its people,” echoing the official stance of the nation that the war is an act of self-defense.