Olga Kharlan became the first Ukrainian woman to fight with a representative of the Russian Federation in fencing after the lifting of the Ministry of Sport's ban on fights against aggressors. Ukrainian athletes can now take part in competitions in which athletes from Russia and Belarus will be present, if they will perform in a neutral status, and not under their national flags.
Mykolaiv fencer, Olympic champion Olga Kharlan defeated Russian saber Anna Smirnova at the World Fencing Championship in Milan under a neutral flag with a score of 15:7. Harlan refused the traditional handshake with Smirnova, who is known for supporting Russia's perverted army.
By the way, in October 2022, the Russian military destroyed the college of physical education in Mykolaiv, where the Olympic champion Harlan studied, with rocket fire. Whose hand should I shake?
Harlan said something emotional to Smirnova as she held out her hand, holding her saber in front of her. As it turned out, Olga offered Anna to cross sabers to end the fight according to the "covid protocol" of international FIE rules. But she refused.
According to FIE rules, our athlete could be disqualified for refusing to shake hands. However, the judges allowed Olga to the next round, but then did not allow her to fight against the representative of Bulgaria, Yoana Iliyeva. Thus, Ilieva was automatically recognized as the winner.
The International Fencing Federation may impose a 60-day ban on Harlan for "refusal to greet an opponent." This will make it impossible for Olga to participate in team competitions at the World Championship, writes sport.24tv.ua.