Athletes from the US, Canada, Sweden and Finland will not participate in the 20th edition of a winter Olympics for deaf athletes in the eastern Turkish province of Erzurum March 2-12 for security reasons, the Gazete Duvar news website reported on Thursday.
Erzurum Governor Mustafa Çiftçi said at a news conference on Wednesday that the US has cited security concerns for the withdrawal of its teams due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East but that he thinks the country’s decision is political. He said there is no problem with security or public order in the city.
Around 1,000 athletes from 40 countries are expected to take part in the upcoming event, known as the Deaflympics.
Çiftçi said ice hockey competitions will not take place due to the withdrawal of the teams from the US, Canada, Sweden and Finland.
“We will all see that we will have completed the Olympics in peace, without any incidents. We will make every effort in this regard,” he added.
Adam Kosa, president of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), also said ICSD officials have toured all the venues for the event and have not encountered any negative situations.
The Deaflympics, a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level, was first launched in Paris in 1924.
