Three fencers from Russia receive US citizenship

Three Russian fencers Sergey and Violetta Bida and Konstantin Lokhanov decided to get US citizenship in order to compete for the American team at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The newspaper USA Today writes about it.

According to the publication, the athletes’ plans were supported by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committees, as well as the US Fencing Association. The head of the Association said in a letter sent to Congress on January 5 that three Russian athletes “sacrificed themselves” and “put their lives at risk” to compete for the US team.

Earlier, three Russian fencers signed documents allowing them to compete in domestic American tournaments organized by the Association. For this, they, in particular, declared that they do not support the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine.

25-year-old Konstantin Lokhanov is the former son-in-law of the head of the Olympic Committee of Russia, Stanislav Pozdnyakov. He left Russia the day before the invasion of Ukraine. His wife, two-time Olympic champion fencer Sofya Pozdniakova, refused to move to the USA, as a result, the couple divorced. In an interview with the publication, Lokhanov condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “They started the war, killing people and thinking that this is normal,” the sportsman said. The head of the Russian Olympic Committee condemned the departure of his former son-in-law, saying that Lokhanov made a “wrong choice.”

A criminal case has been initiated against Sergei and Violetta Byda in Russia under the article on the arbitrary abandonment of a military unit. Earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs declared them wanted.

Presumably, the basis for the prosecution of the athletes is the fact that in Russia Sergey Byda played for the Dynamo Moscow sports club, which was connected to the law enforcement agencies, and had the rank of an officer of the Russian Guard. Violetta Bida played for CSKA, affiliated with the army: SKA and CSKA athletes are formally considered active military personnel.

The couple moved to the USA in the summer of 2023. At the same time, the athletes participated in the US championship in a neutral status. After that, the senior coach of the Russian national team, Alexander Glazunov, was dismissed due to the participation of his wards in American competitions without the consent of Russia.

• Sergey Byda is the silver medalist of the 2020 Olympic Games in the team tournament. Violetta Bida is a medalist of the 2019 World and European Championship in epee fencing. Saber player Konstantin Lokhanov is a four-time world champion among juniors.