Photo: Bildbyrån
Russian ski star Aleksandr Bolsjunov has competed in Italy – his first competition outside his home country after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
That makes Swedish sprint star Linn Svahn upset.
-It’s scary, says the 25-year-old.
Russian skiers have been ported from international competitors since Russia’s full -scale invasion war against Ukraine in February 2022. There has been a consensus in the international ski circus that the suspension will apply as long as the war is ongoing.
Svahn’s giant
Therefore it became a great deal of attention when Aleksander Bolsjunov -Triple Olympic gold medalist in Beijing 2022-suddenly appeared in Seiser Alm, Italy. There, the Russian ran an evening competition on Thursday, which was not sanctioned by FIS (International Ski and Snowboard Association).
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A news not received with warmth of Linn Svahn.
– I find it difficult to see that you should start opening the door just because individual actors, competition, place of competition or organization do so and go against the settings that exist in most countries. I think it will be a very bitter feeling, says the 25-year-old after winning the sprint in the World Cup competition in Falun.
Linn had refused
Before the competition, Bolsjunov had trained for a few days in Lavasé, near the future Olympic arena. Svahn responds that there is a tendency to step by step want to let in Russian skiers.
– That’s often the way it happens. It is very scary. FIS has so far been clear that it is not relevant as long as a war is going on. And the Swedish government has been clear. I hope we continue to be strong in this matter, she says.
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Linn Svahn knows how she would have reacted if she had a similar competition with Russian skiers on the starting line.
– I hadn’t put it up.
Facts: Russian athletes
In the Paris Olympics this summer, individual athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to participate under the neutral flag, but no teams were allowed.
In order to participate, athletes were not actively supported by the war and, for example, be employed by the countries’ military.
In several sports, no Russian or Belarusian athletes participated at all because the special associations did not allow it.
Ahead of the Olympics in Milano Cortina 2026, for example, the International Ice Hockey Association (IIHF) has that Russia and Belarus are not allowed to participate in international ice hockey next season, which in practice means that the countries miss the Olympics.
Admittedly, it is the IOC that makes the formal decision, but they usually go for the individual sports associations’ decision.
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