Tikhon: The Olympic movement must be as it was originally conceived by Coubertin

The Olympic movement is so multifaceted, yet impersonal. What is happening on the international stage is not a competition among the strongest on the planet. Competitions are turning into farces. The head of the Belarusian Athletics Federation, Ivan Tikhon, expressed his opinion in the project "Actual Interview".

Ivan Tikhon, Head of the Belarusian Athletics Federation:

"I noticed that when Olympic Games or the World and European Championships are hosted in the post-Soviet space , they are always held with hospitality. All facilities were provided for athletes, and guests were welcomed with bread and salt. It's all been done to give athletes maximum performance. If the competition is held in say Los Angeles, the economic component is at the forefront. The important thing is that they try to win profit. That's a different approach."

"The minorities started to manifest themselves in sport. The ribbons on the rainbow medals, the gear is also of that nature. We saw at these Olympics that transgender people were officially admitted. And it's no longer about the best among equals. It's not right. We have no right to support this trend," Ivan Tikhon stressed.

The head of the Belarusian Athletics Federation noted that we are making efforts to get to the Olympics, but at the same time there is an alternative: "We went to Russian competitions. We're on our way to Iran now. We'll be heading east then. The Olympic movement must be as Coubertin originally designed it. And the principle of Olympics, to choose the strongest, must be present."