The coach of the Russian national team did not spare his words.
Jegor Sorin (right) accuses the Nordic countries of pressure. ZUMAwire/MVphotos
Coach of the Russian national skiing team Yegor Sorin download live text Swedish Broadcasting Corporation of SVT in the interview.
Sorin is not at all satisfied with the fact that Russian athletes will not be allowed to participate in the cross-country world cup next season either. At the same time, the decision of the International Skiing Federation (Fis) meant that there is no issue for the Olympic Games to be contested in February either.
The International Olympic Committee IOC would have accepted Russian individual athletes who meet certain conditions for the Olympics with a neutral status, but Fis disagreed.
– People cried after that decision. It was a tragedy for them, says Sorin, who met SVT in Livigno, Italy.
In the Nordic countries, there has been strong opposition to the return of Russia and Belarus to the international arena. Especially Swedish and Norwegian skiers have taken a stand on the subject. Swedish Linn Svahn even said that he would consider boycotting the Olympics if the Russians were allowed to participate.
– It smells like Russophobia, Sorin commented on the statements of the Scandi skiers.
Strong criticism
In Sorin’s opinion, the Nordic countries unfairly pressured the FIS member countries to vote so that the Russian skiers would not be able to return to the Games. The fate of Russia and Belarus was decided not by all the member countries, but by the Fis Council.
In Sorin’s opinion, the pressure affected the voting result.
– Undoubtedly, that’s what happened when the hardest skiers made such statements.
Sorin says in the story that in his opinion Russia’s actions did not affect the participation of the country’s athletes in the Olympics, but specifically the decision of Fis.
Individual athletes from Russia and Belarus compete in some Olympic sports with neutral status. These sports include at least figure skating and speed skating.
Russia appealed Fis’s decision to the International Court of Appeal for Sport, Cas. The country would like representatives for cross-country skiing, alpine skiing and snowboarding.