Biathlete Dmytro Pidruchnyi celebrated his sixth place in the Oberhof pursuit with the Norwegian team last Saturday, together they celebrated with the Ukrainian flag on the podium. The celebration photo caused angry reactions in Russia, and now the Ukrainian has explained the background to the picture.
Biathlon professional Dmytro Pidruchnyi was extremely happy about the support of his Norwegian competitors after the World Cup in Oberhof. “It’s great and quite unexpected that the boys took a photo with the flag,” the 33-year-old told Biathlon World.
The Ukrainian revealed: “The initiative came from Sturla Holm Laegreid and other Norwegians – Tarjei and Johannes Thingnes (Bö, editor’s note) – joined spontaneously, together with the French Eric (Perrot) and Quentin (Fillon Maillet). ” The top biathletes came together at the Flower Ceremony to honor the best six athletes of the pursuit race.
Biathlon star Pidruchnyi collects donations for children’s homes
The photo sends a “strong message to the world,” said Pidruchnyi, who supported the National Guard in his hometown of Ternopil at the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The message: “Ukraine is not alone and the best athletes in the world support our country.”
Pidruchnyi also highlighted that numerous biathlon professionals support his initiative to raise money for children’s homes in the Kharkiv region. “Biathletes donate their starting numbers, which I raffle off on my Instagram page for donations. They are not afraid to openly express their position and support for Ukraine. This is wonderful and very important for us,” emphasized the ski hunter.
Two Russia icons etch against the Norwegians based on a flag photo
Meanwhile, that support, especially from the Norwegian stars, was not well received at all in Russia. Russian biathlon icons Alexander Tikhonov and Dmitry Vasilyev insulted Laegreid and the Bö brothers after the flag photo was published.
“For me, Norway has never existed as a nation. Norwegian biathletes hide behind asthma and deceive world sport. They are a pro-fascist nation, their country is covered with the blood of our soldiers,” four-time Olympic champion Tikhonov rumbled to Portal “VSEProSport”.