The story has been made as part of the cooperation between the Nordic broadcasting companies , SVT and NRK.
In August 2022, there was a bitter debate on the Russian state sports channel Match TV.
The topic of the panel discussion was twenty-somethings Mikhail Yakovlev, which had long been considered the gem of Russian track cycling. In 2021, he achieved the first World Championship medal in the keirin through Russia, in 2022 he made the 200-meter unofficial ME.
Still, the Match TV panelists were on edge. A good week before the program’s release, Yakovlev had secretly moved to Israel, acquired the country’s citizenship and announced that he would represent his new homeland in the future.
If you get barks on Match TV, you’ve done something right.
Host of Match TV Anton Anisimov hinted that Yakovlev has an alcohol problem. The word traitor was cultivated diligently during the program. A couple of days later, the general director of the Russian Cycling Federation Juri Kutsherjavyi let the news agency TASS understand in the interviewthat the athlete’s home education was not in order.
Yakovlev recalls the media attention he received with a smile.
– In a short time, I changed from an ME man to an alcoholic. I’m quite proud of it. If you get barks on Match TV, you have done something right, he tells Urheilu.
Secret relocation preparations
Mikhail Yakovlev, who was born in Moscow, had always been critical of Russia’s leaders Vladimir Putin to the administration.
His parents were opposition leaders To Alexei Navalny loyal supporters and took their children at an early age to demonstrations demanding freedom and genuine democracy for Russia.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Yakovlev was shocked. He sent messages to his Ukrainian racing partners and asked how they were doing. On Instagram, he wrote that all supporters of the war should stop following him.
Even a sports career that had great expectations suddenly seemed hopeless.
– After the start of the war, I competed for six months, and all the competitions were the same. There were only Russian and Belarusian athletes in them. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Minsk… I won everywhere. I was starting to get fed up with it.
Yakovlev saw his opportunity in his family roots. His grandmother is Jewish, which provided the opportunity to apply for Israeli citizenship. The cyclist contacted the management of the Israel Premium Tech team to Sylvan Adams, which began to organize the transfer to the Middle East. Only Jakovlev’s nuclear family and his girlfriend at the time knew about the plans to move.
– Even my best friends had no idea that I was leaving. I was afraid to tell about it. I was thinking about the goalkeeper Ivan Fedotov fate, Yakovlev says.
At the end of July 2022, Yakovlev competed in the Russian championships. A few days later, he received word from Adams that the practical arrangements had been taken care of. The Israeli Cycling Federation had procured plane tickets for the athlete to Tel Aviv.
Yakovlev had one evening to go to the Moscow athletes’ dormitory and pack his things. He yelled to his roommate that he was going to the cabin.
– I was in shock. In one evening I had to leave the city where I had lived all my life for good.
Only after arriving in Israel did Jakovlev tell about his life change on Instagram. The Russian Cycling Federation and the Olympic Committee were not happy about losing their crown jewel. However, they could not intervene in the transfer, because the Russian Olympic Committee is closed due to the war from the activities of the international Olympic movement.
Yakovlev’s new life began in 40 degree heat in Tel Aviv. Culture shock was inevitable. Hebrew or English was spoken everywhere, armed soldiers were present everywhere, and food was expensive.
There was also a noticeable difference in the sports framework. Russia had a long tradition of track cycling, and the state significantly supported the careers of top athletes. There was only one velodrome in Israel, built a few years ago in Tel Aviv.
– After the transfer, my sports results collapsed for a year. It wasn’t until this year’s European Championships that I got back to my level, says Jakovlev, who won bronze at the sprint European Championships in January.
It was easier that Yakovlev’s parents and personal trainer also moved to Israel. The parents live with their Jewish grandmother in northern Israel, about a hundred kilometers from Tel Aviv.
The top cyclist did not escape the war.
On October 7, 2023, the terrorist organization Hamas attacked various parts of Israel. More than 1,400 people were killed in the terrorist attack. There were also Israeli cyclists who were attacked in the middle of training.
Yakovlev was at a training camp in Switzerland at the time of the attacks. He read about what happened in the morning news and immediately called his parents.
– I was terrified. Hamas did terrible things. I don’t know what else to say, he describes his feelings.
Yakovlev’s parents live in the northern part of Israel, where Hamas did not attack. However, the events of October left a big mark on the family.
– No one could be calm on October 7. The Great Depression ensued. Life is slowly returning closer to normal, but worry and sadness are still present, Jakovlev describes.
The Israeli government responded to the attacks by Hamas with extensive bombing of Gaza. The international community has strongly criticized Israel’s attacks, which have killed several tens of thousands of civilians.
The cyclist feels that the situation in Israel differs from Russia, which is closed from international competition in many sports.
– Of course, it doesn’t feel good when people shout that Israel shouldn’t be involved. They don’t understand what Hamas has done, Yakovlev says.
However, he emphasizes that he does not support war.
– I don’t like wars, and neither do many others. Everyone just wants some peace and quiet. No one wants this tense situation to continue.
Lifeguards always present
Talking about the war is difficult for Yakovlev. Although the goal is to focus fully on the Paris Olympics, which will start soon, the prevailing world situation is constantly felt in the cyclist’s everyday life.
Last year, Israeli cyclists traveled to the Muslim countries of Indonesia and Egypt for the World Cup. At the airport, the team followed their own routes, and on the way from the hotel to the competition venue, the athletes were escorted by several police cars.
– We travel everywhere with bodyguards and we constantly receive safety instructions. In Egypt, a bodyguard even came with me to the bathroom, Yakovlev says.
According to Yakovlev, the Egyptian competition organizers made it clear that the Israeli athlete was not welcome at the event.
– The Egyptians sent a TV picture of the competition, where every contestant got close-up photos. When I was in the semi-finals, they only filmed a wide shot of my ride so that no Israeli emblems could be seen. I was second in the sprint, but nobody shook my hand on the podium.
– This year the world cups have been in Hong Kong, Australia and Canada. If the games had been held in Arab countries, we might have missed them.
“Israel has given me a home”
Despite security concerns, Yakovlev’s big dream will come true in August at the Paris Olympics. There, he aims for the first Olympic medal in the history of Israeli track cycling in the keirin and sprint.
– My dream is Olympic gold, but I’m happy if I get a medal of any color.
Yakovlev has not been to Russia since his departure. He says he misses his former homeland’s legendary velodromes and Soviet-inspired coaches and mechanics who have lost their souls to the sport.
– Those papparai were very charismatic people. Many of them still support me.
However, returning to the country of birth has not even crossed my mind.
– First of all, I have no reason to go there. Secondly, it’s pointless to play with fate. Especially now that this interview is also going public.
– Israel gave me a home. The country helps me in sports and in other life. It is much nicer to represent the Israeli flag than the Russian flag.