Ukraine's first Olympic champion says Russians should be barred from Games

As long as her country is under attack, she does not want Russians to compete

GENEVA (Reuters) - Wearing her blue and yellow tracksuit from the 1994 Olympics, former figure skater Oksana Baiul-Farina displays the gold medal she won for Ukraine at those Games as a 16-year-old.

That Olympic gold -- Ukraine's first after it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 -- carries even more meaning for Baiul-Farina, with the prospect of seeing athletes from Russia and Belarus competing at the Olympics while her country is at war. "It weighs way more now than it ever has," she told Reuters, tears welling in her eyes. "It's so painful."

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, initially using its ally Belarus as a staging ground for troops driving towards Kyiv. The war has killed tens of thousands, destroyed cities and uprooted millions.

In the wake of the invasion, most international sports federations adopted recommendations by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban athletes from Russia and Belarus. But last month, the IOC issued a new guidelines for a gradual return to international competitions by Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals. IOC President Thomas Bach said their participation "works" despite the war in Ukraine.

Baiul-Farina adamantly disagrees. As long as her country is under attack, she does not want Russians to compete. "If I was Thomas Bach, I would not allow Russians to compete until the end of the war. Period," she said. "I would not let them in."

Baiul-Farina, who lives in the United States, offered to help Ukrainian figure skaters come to train at U.S. skating clubs. But the skaters have refused to leave the country, despite trying circumstances, including air raid sirens blaring during training sessions.

"I always think of athletes as soldiers. We are people who fight for ourselves and we fight for our country," she said. Ukraine has barred its national teams from competing in Olympic, non-Olympic and Paralympic events that include Russians and Belarusians.

Baiul-Farina said Ukrainian athletes and sports federations should decide for themselves whether to compete. "They're making money by going and competing at events," she said. "If they can't make money, then Ukrainian sport will be shut down. And God only knows when they will be able to stand back up on their feet."