Veronika Stepanova sent a message to the IOC boss

Veronika Stepanova received a heroic welcome from Vladimir Putin for the Olympic relay skiing gold. EPA / AOP

Chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Thomas Bach said the German newspaper Bildin in an interview that he does not fully support sanctions against Russia, although the current recommendations remain in place.

Russian skier With Veronika Stepanova there is a lot of demand for Bach on the international ski slopes.

– Mr. Bach, I promise you that I will train three times so that it is you, and no one else, who will give me a medal in the upcoming games. I don’t know about you, but I have a special pleasure to see your face at the same time, Stepanova wrote on Instagram.

In Stepanova’s Instagram update, there was a screenshot of the Bild interview. The 21-year-old is aiming for success at the Winter Olympics in Italy in 2026.

Bach said that he agrees that international sports competitions will not be organized in Russia and Belarus for the time being. The IOC recommends that Russians and Belarusians are not invited to sports competitions, and country codes are not used.

Bach said in the article that he does not support a total boycott of Russian athletes, because the IOC is a global organization.

For example, Wimbeldon’s decision to completely exclude the Russians from the tennis tournament went too far in Bach’s opinion.

– The global organization needs to think about the following issue: Sanctions against Russia are supported by less than 50 countries in the world. In the IOC, we therefore have around 150 national Olympic committees whose governments have not imposed sanctions on Russia. They ask us why we react like this, Bach stated to Bild.

In Bach’s opinion, the IOC must not submit to political sanctions, which Stepanova agreed with.

– Well said! Now we expect actions from words, Stepanova wrote on Instagram.

Last winter in Beijing, Stapanova won the Olympic gold in the Russian relay team. The skier has openly supported Vladimir Putinfrom whom the IOC took away the award medal awarded in 2001.