Ukraine's National Olympic Committee Chairman Sergei Bubka said Thursday that he opposed any attempts to disrupt and sabotage the Olympics torch relay.
"It is totally wrong for pro-Tibet independence activists to disrupt and sabotage Olympics torch relay," Bubka said in an interview with Xinhua in Kiev. "They violated the Olympic spirit and ideals."
The former pole vaulting legend warned against any move toward a boycott of the Beijing Olympics, speaking from his personal experience of 1984 when the former Soviet Union boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics in retaliation for a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
"For outstanding sportsmen, to take part in the Olympic games is a great honor. I don't want today's athletes to suffer the same pain I had experienced in 1984," he added.
Bubka said China has already made good preparations for the event and he wished the Beijing Olympics a success.
Bubka repeatedly broke the pole vault world record and went on to win his Olympic gold in 1988. He retired after the Sydney Olympics in 2000. In 2005, he was elected chairman of Ukraine's National Olympic Committee.
(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2008)