Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday praised Russian Olympians whose successes at the Tokyo Olympics, he said, prove that any attempt to politicize sport "
makes no sense
".
"
By their performances, our athletes prove in the best way that any attempt to politicize sport is derisory, senseless, even harmful ... that it makes no sense,
" Putin said in a speech. meeting with workers in Bashkiria (Urals).
To discover
The full Olympic program
The Olympic medal table
On Friday, the Russians were 5th in the ranking of the most medal-winning nations at the Tokyo Olympics, with 62 medals, including 17 gold medals. Accused since 2015 of having set up an institutional doping system, Russia is suspended from major international competitions until 2022, its anthem, flag and even its name being banned.
In Tokyo, clean Russian athletes, authorized to participate in the Olympic Games, compete under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), the country's anthem having been replaced by a work by the Russian composer Piotr Tchaikovsky. The Russian authorities have continued to deny any organized doping and denounce a "
political
"
decision
to suspend Russia, while acknowledging individual doping cases. “
Unfortunately, sports officials could not resist political pressure
,” Putin insisted on Friday.