Olympic organisers were left red-faced and embarrassed after an announcement on Wednesday erroneously described two athletes from the Ukraine to have been representing the Russian Olympic Committee.
Organisers have since issued a formal apology to artistic swimming duo Marta Fiedina and Anastasiya Savchuk – who won bronze in the swimming event on Wednesday. Organising spokesperson Masa Tanaka described the error to have been a simple “operational” mistake.
What makes the mistake an embarrassment is the sensitive diplomatic situation between Russia and the Ukraine. Crimea, a region of the Ukraine, was officially annexed by Russia at the time of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Conflict over the annexing of Crimea continues even now – even though the region remains recognized as being Ukrainian territory according to international laws.
While announcements are typically done in English, Japanese, and French – with the latter being the Olympics’ modern-day official home language – it had been a French language official to make the mistake with the announcement of the origins of the pair of bronze medalists. The person in charge of official Olympic announcements has in the meantime apologised for the embarrassing oversight, as has the French language official.
So prominent have tensions become between the two regions, that European football rules have prevented teams from the Ukraine and Russia from competing against one other over security fears ever since 2014. Olympic athletes, however, have continued to compete against each other in official events – and to date without any concerns over safety and/or security.
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