Planica World Cup skiing on channels 22.2.–5.3.2023. See the program and broadcast information of the World Ski Championships at this link.
The World Championships in Nordic skiing are currently being held without Russian athletes in Planica, Slovenia. If the president of the International Ski Federation FIS Johan Eliasch could decide, the Russians would be involved.
Russia was banned from international sports after it invaded Ukraine about a year ago.
– It’s not about if Russian athletes return to competitions. It’s about when they will return, Eliasch said in an interview with Urheilu in Planica.
– We are in a difficult situation. Athletes cannot choose which country they are born in. You have to separate the country of birth from the athletes. When we look at the big picture of sports, sports should be apolitical and neutral. Sport is a human right, Eliasch reasoned.
FIS boss Eliasch also refers to the statement published by the United Nations (UN) at the beginning of February, in which UN experts defended the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (you go to another service) about the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competition fields.
The return of Russian athletes to international competitions has spoken in recent months and divided the world. The Finnish Olympic Committee believes that it is still early for Russians and Belarusians to return, and many European countries are on the same lines. For example, the Baltic and Polish sports ministers demanded at the beginning of February that Russia and Belarus be closed from competitions until the end of the war.
Naturally, the Ukrainian athletes have reacted most negatively to the matter. The former triple jump star and current member of parliament Be Saladuhan according to Ukraine has died a total of 220 coaches and athletes since the Russian invasion began last February. (you switch to another service)
– In this situation, is it fair to let the Russians compete even under a neutral flag? Hundreds of professional athletes in Russia have expressed their support for the war, but we haven’t heard of anyone opposing the war, Saladuha commented to AFP.
Eliasch says he understands the reactions of European countries.
– I grew up in Sweden and served my army in Sweden during the Cold War. I understand the deep feelings of the Nordic, Baltic and some European countries about this.
According to the FIS boss, the most important thing in decision-making is to remain a united front.
– If we don’t agree, there is a risk that sport will become political and that would be a real tragedy.
However, sports history knows numerous cases where countries have been excluded from sports competitions for reasons other than sports: for example, Germany was not invited to the 1948 Olympics because of the events of World War II, and South Africa was not invited to the 1964 Olympics because of apartheid.
Some of the Russian athletes have openly supported the Russian president who declared war Vladimir Putin. Among them are Aleksander Bolshunov and Winner of relay gold in Beijing (you switch to another service) Veronika Stepanova.
Eliasch points out that those who openly support the war have no business on the streets.
– Russian and Belarusian athletes participated in the Games under a neutral flag. Athletes who openly support what is happening in Ukraine should not participate in competitions.
The competition season will be moved in a week
The return of Russian and Belarusian athletes has been talked about for a longer time due to climate change and its effect on winter sports. Eliasch also commented on the effects of global warming in an interview with Urheilu.
According to ‘s report, every third Olympic city will be too warm to host winter sports in the future.
Eliasch says that the International Ski Federation has taken climate change seriously.
– We have set our goal to reduce our carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2030. We strive for that by using more renewable materials, planning logistics and travel better and favoring renewable energy sources, the FIS boss enumerates.
For example, the Norwegian chairman of the FIS cross-country skiing committee Vegard Ungang predicted in January, (you switch to another service) that in the future competitions will be organized at a higher level. However, the traditional ski resorts of Central Europe have rarely seen snow outside the slopes in recent years.
– We have found that keeping the competitions low has been really challenging, Eliasch admits.
For example, at this year’s Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf, temperatures of up to 17 degrees were measured at the beginning of January. According to the current rules, cross-country skiing competitions can be organized at a maximum altitude of 1,800 meters.
The International Ski Federation has also reacted to the situation by changing the competition calendar. The cross-country skiing World Cup season has traditionally started from Ruka.
– We have also noticed that the snow comes later these days, so next season we will start a week later and will probably move the end of the season forward a week as well.