Lifter's long wait to realize Olympic dream

Defiant weightlifter Oleg Musokhranov has told AFP that "Russians never throw in the towel", as he contemplates sitting out the Paris Olympics later this year.

Even though he will be 33 by the time 2028 rolls around, the four-time champion of Russia is already looking ahead to that year's Los Angeles Olympics.

"It's not the end of the world," he said.

Musokhranov said he would only contemplate competing at this year's edition of the quadrennial sporting showpiece if "the Russian national anthem was played and the flag was present."

Neither will feature at the Paris Games, which run from July 26 to Aug 11, due to restrictions laid down by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus will have to compete under neutral banners.

"For an athlete, it is hugely important to compete under your national flag and to have the national anthem," he said, speaking in late January on the sidelines of a competition in Tula, 200 kilometers south of Moscow.

Russia has condemned the IOC ruling as "discriminatory".

They sparked a furious reaction from Russian weightlifting federation president Maxim Agapitov, who has ruled out any participation by Russian athletes.

In a letter addressed to AFP, the 53-year-old former world champion derided the Paris Games as "a festival ridiculously and unfortunately branded as the Olympic Games".