The former skiing star said back in March, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suggested that Russians and Belarusians could start competing internationally again under a neutral flag, that it was unacceptable.
— I consider it unacceptable that we should go to competitions and be doormats, something that you wipe your feet on, she said to Match, which is owned by the state energy company Gazprom and has close links to President Vladimir Putin.
In a new interview, she answers the question of whether the athletes themselves should be allowed to decide how they want to do it:
— I am for each person to be able to decide for themselves. But at the same time, I am deeply convinced that 99.99 percent of Russian athletes will answer “no,” she says.
In order to compete internationally, the IOC believes that there should also be a requirement that Russians do not support the war in Ukraine and have no military connection. Russians who would agree to compete under such conditions are unlikely to receive any government assistance.
“For me, they are traitors and should not get any help,” says Välbe.