Darja Virolainen has not made any decisions about national team representation.
Darja Virolainen has lived in Finland for many years. PDO
Biathlon skier Darja Virolainen33, is said to be interested in defecting from the Russian national team to Finland.
The rumor started when Virolainen’s former coach Leonid Myakishev fired the claim in an interview with MatchTV.
Now the athlete himself has told his opinion. Sports.ruwebsite reached Virolainen on Monday evening.
– I wasn’t going to announce out loud that I would compete in the Finnish national team in the future. Yes, I have lived here with my family for six years. I train with a local club. I gave birth to my third child six months ago and I am still breastfeeding him.
– I would just like to compete in local competitions and get to experience the emotions caused by the competition again. I’m really surprised that this caused so much fuss in my home (in Russia), Virolainen said.
The Estonian emphasizes that he has not decided anything regarding the national team change or even found out about it.
In Russia, the skier was already labeled a traitor in some discussions. This was stated, for example, by the former chairman of the Russian Biathlon Union Vladimir Drachev.
The Estonian says he speaks some Finnish. The family lives near Helsinki, and one of his children is already at school and speaks Finnish as his mother tongue.
– I have no goals for the Olympics or the World Cup. My mother is not here to help with the family, so I practically have the baby in my arms all the time. When I work out, my husband takes care of the children at home.
No connection
Chairman of the Finnish Biathlon Union Kalle Lähdesmäki according to the claims about changing the Estonian to the Finnish national team are not true.
– According to the Biathlon Union’s information, he is not a Finnish citizen. He has not been in contact with the union, Lähdesmäki told Iltalehte on Monday.
The Estonian trains with Tuusula’s Voima-Veikko.
In the summer, he competed in the roller shooting ski race in Kontiolahti and finished second in the normal race and fourth in the speed races.
The Estonian is a married ex-biathlon skier Roman Virolainen with. Born in Petroskoi, Karelia, Roman Virolainen represented Belarus at the 2002 Olympics.
Previously represented Belarus in his career Nastassia Kinnunen got Finnish citizenship two years ago and moved to represent Finland.