Julia Stupak from Russia had received an athlete’s vest from a team and was training on the tracks of the World Cup in Toblach. It also caused confusion among Finnish skiers.
Anu Karttunen,
Laura Arffman
Russian skier Julia Stupak caused a stir when he showed up to practice on the World Cup track in Toblach on Thursday. Among other things Tiril Udnes Weng told for Norwegian VG (you switch to another service), that he had seen Stupak on the track during official practice. The Russian was also wearing a vest that only accredited athletes get.
The FIS has banned Russian and Belarusian skiers from their competitions because of the war of aggression started by Russia.
Also Kerttu Niskanen told Urheilu that he saw Stupak skiing on Thursday, but at that time he was not wearing a vest.
– She didn’t have a vest on yesterday, but I heard from girls in other countries that she was wearing a vest today. But I haven’t seen it myself, Niskanen said.
Stupak’s appearance on the World Cup tracks raised only one question in Niskanen’s mind: why?
– Why is he skiing here wearing a vest? Maybe he wants to confuse in some way. I do not know.
Jasmi Joensuu hadn’t seen Stupak on the ski slopes or in Toblach for that matter.
– However, I haven’t paid attention to it. I guess anyone can ski here, but it’s a bit embarrassing if he has skied the race tracks here, Joensuu said.
– He certainly hasn’t received that accreditation from FIS. Every team has those vests, no matter how many. Someone gave it to him.
Competition director: No sanctions
Competition director of the International Ski Federation (FIS). Michal Lamplot told for NRK (you switch to another service) being aware of the incident. According to Lamplot, FIS knows which team Stupak got his vest from, but did not want to make it public.
– We spoke with the team and told them that the vest is only intended for athletes participating in competitions, and this must not happen again, Lamplot said.
According to Lamplot, the matter has been completed, and there will be no sanctions for the team that handed over the vest.
The World Cup weekend in Toblach started with freestyle sprints.
Ladies:
1) Jonna Sundling, Sweden 2:49.76
2) Maja Dahlqvist, Sweden +0.65
3) Jessie Diggins, USA +0.81
4) Emma Ribom, Sweden +1.12
5) Linn Svahn, Sweden +1.63
6) Laura Gimmler, Germany +1.69
…
16) Kerttu Niskanen
23) Jasmi Joensuu
33) Tiia Olkkonen
37) Maaret Pajunoja
Gentlemen:
1) Johannes Hösflot Kläbo, Norway 2:30,58
2) Håvard Solås Taugböl, Norway +0.56
3) Federico Pellegrino, Italy +0.72
4) Erik Valnes, Norway +1.26
5) Lucas Chanavat, France +2.74
6) Edvin Anger, Sweden +2.90
…
21) Joni Mäki
26) Niilo Moilanen
29) Verneri Suhonen
30) Verneri Poikonen
31) Juuso Haarala
44) Lauri Lepistö