The suspension of Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan, disqualified from the Fencing Worlds for not shaking hands with her Russian opponent, has been lifted, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) announced on Friday, allowing her to compete the team event from Saturday.
The FIE has also amended its rules which no longer oblige you to exchange a handshake with your opponent, indicated Bruno Gares, member of the FIE Executive Committee, during a press conference.
The suspension of the quadruple world champion and best Ukrainian for the whole competition frankly affected the chances of her country in the team event of the Worlds where the points count double in the race for Olympic qualification. The interim president of the FIE, Emmanuel Katsiadakis, quoted in a press release, explains that the lifting of the suspension was decided “after consultation with the International Olympic Committee”.
