Opposition came mostly from young people and voters of the right-wing Civic Democrats (ODS) and TOP 09. Photo credit: Freepik.
Prague, Mar 1 (CTK) – A majority of Czechs (54%) would not permit Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris if the war in Ukraine is still going on next year, according to a poll conducted by the Median agency and released yesterday by Czech Radio.
The poll found that 37% of respondents supported the participation of athletes from the two countries in the Paris Olympics.
Median director Premysl Cech said opposition came mostly from young people and voters of the right-wing Civic Democrats (ODS) and TOP 09.
However, Cech pointed out that the decision on who will or will not take part in the Olympics will not be taken yet, as the games are not due until July and August 2024.
The poll was carried out on more than 1,000 respondents aged over 18 on 17-18 February.
Sporting representatives of dozens of countries are opposed to the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in the Paris Olympics. Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Olympics if Russia is permitted to participate. However, the Czech Republic does not plan to join the boycott, according to the National Sport Agency (NSA) and the Czech Foreign Ministry.
