Jelena Välbe admits that it is not easy for Russian athletes to return to international competitions.
Chairman of the Russian Ski Federation Jelena Välbe reflects on the return of Russian athletes to international competitions in a recent interview. The ex-skier has high expectations, but many parties will certainly think about things in the future very differently than Välbe.
– When the special operation is over, the world has changed a lot. Maybe everyone will ask us to come back and apologize to us. Välbe refers Sport-Express in an interview about the war in Ukraine.
– I don’t think the world will return to the way it was before. Still, I don’t think we’ll see a boycott or hideous aggression.
The Olympic champion in skiing has not thought about how quickly the return could happen. He acknowledges that the world situation is difficult.
Välbe does not support competing with a neutral status.
– It is one thing for athletes to have the flag of an international organization. I can’t accept that athletes compete completely impersonally.
– Things are not as simple as we thought in February last year. I think everyone had pink glasses on their eyes back then. Now they have been removed.
Jelena Välbe is not afraid of sanctions. PASI LEISMA
Välbe has been in contact with the International Ski Federation, or Fisi. He was upset when the Russians were not allowed to attend the Fis meeting because of the Ukraine sanctions.
– They said they didn’t want to offend us and talked about the honesty of sports. These are memorized phrases. They are all slaves.
Välbe has supported Vladimir Putin, Russia and war openly. At the same time, rapa has been put on the neck of Western countries.
The ex-skier is still not worried about getting banned.
– If I end up with one, then what? Life doesn’t end there. However, I would not like to work in another country. Of course there would be some problems. They are still not life-threatening.
Neprjaeva number one?
Välbe believes that Natalia Neprjaeva (pictured) would have won the World Cup. PASI LEISMA
In the same interview, the skiing boss made a harsh statement about international skiing.
He has not sorted out this season’s World Cup winners or World Cup medalists.
– I think the best skiers in the world were in Russia this year. Natalia Nepryaeva won the overall World Cup last year and would have won this year as well.
Now Välbe is waiting for the competition ban to be lifted.
– I want this to be over as quickly as possible.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus were banned from the Fis Games because of the war of aggression in Ukraine. In March, the International Olympic Committee IOC recommended that individual athletes from the two countries could enter international arenas with neutral status.
The sports federations can decide on the matter themselves. Fis deals with the return of Russians and Belarusians at the end of April.