Epee fencer Sergei Bida, who left Russia, wanted to compete for the USA at the Olympics

Fencers Sergei and Violetta Bida, who left Russia, as well as Konstantin Lokhanov, gathered to obtain American citizenship and try to get to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris to compete there for the United States. They are supported by the local Olympic Committee and the Fencing Federation.

In Russia, after leaving the country, the Bida spouses were put on the wanted list due to the fact that they were officially military personnel. The Ministry of Internal Affairs considered that in this way Sergei and Violetta left their place of service without permission.

Russian fencers will need Biden's approval

The US Olympic Committee and the Fencing Federation have asked Congress to speed up citizenship for athletes.

Lawyer Jack Wiener, representing the fencers, clarified that in order to qualify for the Olympics, which begins on July 26, Congress must approve their acquisition of citizenship in a short time, and President Joe Biden must sign a corresponding decree.

Athletes are not guaranteed a spot on Team USA at the Olympics.

Andrews stressed that getting to the 2024 Games will not be easy for them. Even if they had citizenship now, the Russians would remain outside the national team based on the rating. Selection for the Olympics in the United States began back in July. But Andrews pointed to another route to qualification: discretionary selection for a team event, which involves the subjective selection of athletes independent of their ranking.

Lawyer Wiener also added that Bide and Lokhanov will not need permission from Moscow to change their sports citizenship, since, according to him, the fencers have not represented Russia in international competitions for three years. There is such an exception in the Olympic Charter.

Violetta Bida became pregnant in the USA

USA Today newspaper toldthat 30-year-old Sergei and 29-year-old Violetta Bida live in a one-room apartment and teach at a fencing club. They asked that their exact location not be disclosed. Violetta noted that they are ready to represent the USA, but explained that only Sergei will be able to go to the Olympic Games, since she herself is six months pregnant.

Lokhanov also teaches at a fencing club in San Diego. The school belongs to a coach of Russian origin. Soon after arriving in the USA, Lokhanov got a tattoo on his arm with the inscription “Freedom”. Saber fencer Konstantin Lokhanov is the ex-husband of two-time Olympic champion Sofia Pozdnyakova. Her father, head of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov, criticized Lokhanov after his departure to the United States, calling him “a frightened lover of raspberry frappe and yellow scooters.”

Sergei Bida's mother announced his dismissal from the Russian Guard

On January 12, Elena Grishina, the mother of fencer Sergei Bida, who escaped from Russia, a two-time medalist at the World Fencing Championship, reported that the couple were dismissed from the Russian Guard on December 27. In this regard, “nothing really prevents them” from representing the United States, Grishina added.

Previously, she said that Sergei wanted to resign from the Russian Guard and tried to do so several times, but was refused. At the same time, Bida had permission to leave the country from the Ministry of Sports, thanks to which he was able to freely leave Russia.

Sergei was a member of Dynamo Moscow and had the rank of ensign of the Russian Guard, while Violetta Bida was an active service member of the Ministry of Defense in the capital’s CSKA.

In December, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put Sergei and Violetta Bida on the wanted list. According to available information, after leaving for the United States, the spouses took part in competitions without the consent of the Russian side, which was a violation of the regulations and made them subjects of criminal prosecution under Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Unauthorized abandonment of a unit or place of service”).