The process of returning domestic athletes to international competitions, as expected, ran into barriers provided by the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The International Fencing Federation (FIE) has denied access to almost all the leaders of the Russian saber team to participate in its tournaments, thus, in fact, depriving them of the opportunity to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Stanislav Pozdnyakov, called the IOC criteria “a toolkit for a thinly veiled suspension”, insisting that we are talking about “discrimination and double standards that are still applied on a national basis” against Russian representatives.