The German biathlon team wants to set an example at the first World Cup after the Winter Olympics in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“I have no idea how it feels when I fly there now. In the Whatsapp group we discussed whether we could set an example. We definitely want to help. I can’t imagine how this will continue.” said individual Olympic champion Denise Herrmann in the “Blickpunkt Sport” of the Bavarian radio before the races from February 3rd in Kontiolahti, Finland.
Herrmann is shocked by what is happening in Ukraine. “The news that has reached you in the last few days after your return – it doesn’t get any worse than that. You only know that from books, and now it’s really happening here,” said Herrmann.
Herrmann: “I’m employed by the Bundeswehr myself”
The Ukrainian biathlon team will not take part in the last three World Cups. Some athletes who recently competed in Beijing have now been drafted and are fighting in their home country. “I’m employed by the Bundeswehr myself. I can only begin to imagine how they must be doing. We couldn’t have imagined in our worst dreams that something like this would happen,” said Herrmann.
She thinks it’s a good thing that the world association only wanted the Russian team to start under a neutral flag as a reaction to the Russian war of aggression. “You can’t go on as if nothing had happened. Because that has to be stopped.”
The 33-year-old regretted that the Russian association had now withdrawn his team as a protest: “Sport is actually supposed to unite. Of course it’s brutal for the individual athlete. We all want the same thing: we want to measure ourselves, we want fair competitions. The best should be at the start – and that’s not the case now.”