Los Angeles, CA – At its best, sport transcends the cultural and political differences of nations, bringing the people of the world into a better understanding of what connects us rather than what divides us. The apogee of this philosophy has been the Olympic Games which, in ancient times, brought warring city states together for a peaceful expression of sporting excellence, and in modern times, draws the nations of the world together every four years. 

But politics is another universal human construct, which has proven difficult for even sport to overcome in terms of its divisive characteristics.

Hence, we recall not only the political boycotts of previous Olympics, but the banning of South African athletes from international sport beginning in the early 1970s for their white-minority government’s apartheid laws that segregated society along racial lines between 1948 and 1994. 

In that sense, black athletes of South Africa were doubly punished. First, in their own country for being black. Then internationally for being South African. 

Today, athletes from Russia and Belarus have been banned from international competition by World Athletics due to Russia’s “unilateral decision… on 5 February 2023 to include as its members, the regional sports organizations that are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (namely,Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaponzhzhia). This constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter, because it violates the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine  which is recognized by the IOC in accordance with the Olympic charter.”

But just like for black South Africans during apartheid, athletes from Belarus who protested their country’s alliance with Putin’s Russia in the invasion of Ukraine, are still banned for being Belarusian. 

One athlete so punished is a former race-walker turned distance runner, two-time fifth place finisher in the Olympic Marathon, Olga Mazuronak, who will be running her first marathon in three years in tomorrow’ s 39th Los Angeles Marathon presented by Asics.

After her country’s 2020 national elections, Olga joined some 350 other athletes who signed an open letter of protest against the election fraud that kept Alexander Lukashenko’s government in power for a sixth term. 

The election fraud led to huge national protests from August through October 2020 and then a corresponding violent suppression of those protests by the Lukashenko government. 

By the end of 2021, the hope for a successful protest had been eliminated. Furthermore, in February 2022, Lukashenko supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As a consequence of joining the protests, Volha (Olga) Mazuronak was subjected to repression by her nation’s authorities, and was unable to train or compete, as many international events strictly followed the World Athletics ban. Accordingly, Olga was forced to try to leave the country with her teenage son, Denis, to find a safe haven. 

It took until the summer of 2023 for her to get permission to relocate to the United States. In September 2023, Olga and Denis settled in Irvine, California, where she was able to obtain membership in USA Track & Field. 

“I am very grateful to the Los Angeles Marathon for the opportunity to return to my favorite business,” Olga said, speaking of racing. “My start in America has been alone. I am still looking for a team. I don’t have a manager or a coach. As for my plans for Sunday, I am superstitious, and I won’t make any guesses. I can say one thing. I had a productive five-week training in Kenya, and I think I’m in good shape. I hope the starting time between men and women in the Chase will be fair and I can compete for the victory.”

Olga finished fifth in both Rio 2016 and the Tokyo Games marathon which was held in Sapporo in 2021. She’s the 2018 European marathon champion and the fifth place finisher at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar 2019. She ran her personal best time, 2:23:54, finishing fourth in London in 2016.

On paper, Olga’s credentials make her a favorite in Sunday’s race. What’s left to overcome is a field headed by defending champion Stacy Ndiwa of Kenya, the loss of two years of training and racing, the loss of her shoe company contract – she was dropped because she missed two years of competition –  and the support of her nation. 

That said, there won’t be a more motivated athlete among the 26,000 who will start tomorrow morning’s 39th Los Angeles Marathon. No matter the outcome, win or lose, it seems Olga Mazuronak is finally on a path she can follow in full faith for years to come.

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