Faced with difficulties in qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Russian women fencers compete in a domestic event in Moscow attended by several foreign peers. The event takes place after the Russian Olympic Committee said they had rejected the IOC's "proposed return format", set out to allow the country's athletes back into the international competition. On March 28, the IOC recommended the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes under several conditions, but did not comment on their presence at the 2024 Paris Games for which the first qualifying events took place without Russian participants. "I enjoy fencing" says Yana Egorian, one of those competing in Moscow, "whether I have to compete internationally or domestically, it makes no difference to me." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES