“I am for correctly prioritized”: Lasickene called on the leadership of the VFLA to resign

"Disrespect for the" clean "athletes"

High jumper Maria Lasitskene answered the president of the All-Russian Athletics Federation Dmitry Shlyakhtin, who had previously stated that he had “equal relations” with the athlete, and expressed a desire to meet with her and her team in person.

Lasickene once again called on the leadership to resign.

“I can’t have equal relations with a man who, after my jump to 2.03 m, came up and dissuaded me from going to the European Winter Championship in Belgrade. Motivating this by the fact that I’ll be there alone ... At that time I didn’t speak at international starts for a year and a half, ”Lasickene wrote on Instagram.

View this Instagram post

Posted by Maria Lasickene (@ lasitskene.maria) Oct 7, 2019 at 1:57 PDT

Earlier, her husband, television commentator Vladas Lasickas, immediately after the triumph of the athlete in Doha, spoke about the awards that athletes received after speaking at the World Cup.

As an example, he cited Russian boxers who received large sums of money and cars for victories at the World Championships held a few weeks earlier. At the same time, athletes, he said, were forced to be content with "SMS from the head of the federation with a bouquet."

In response, Shlyakhtin said that he did not consider criticism of Lasickas constructive, and admitted that he did not intend to respond to all statements addressed to him. With regard to the situation with the prize, he emphasized that previously the athletes were completely without a monetary reward.

“I will talk with sponsors. I can’t promise anything now, but I’ll try to correct this situation for the better. Who were we compared to? With boxing? They have three medals. We have six. And everyone needs prize money. That is, there should be a solid budget, ”the functionary said in an interview with Sport-Express.

The athlete said she did not count on the payment of prize money.

“The statements of the head of the ARAF that the team in Doha would have been even stronger with people who had served doping did not fit in my head. This is disrespect for pure athletes. What kind of cultural change is he talking about? I’m not against the performance of these athletes, but I’m for the correctly placed accents and priorities in the work of the federation, ”Lasickene added.

Shlyakhtin did not comment on most of the statements of the athlete, but answered the call to leave his post.

“I'll think about it. Not going to comment on this. I can only say that for myself I consider this topic closed, I spoke on it, and everything else is history, ”the head of the VFLA RIA Novosti quotes.

“We will fully defend our right to speak at the Olympics”

Lasitskene repeatedly criticized Shlyakhtin. The statements were mainly related to the deprivation of Russia’s membership in the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 2015 after the discovery of numerous cases of anti-doping rule violations.

In her opinion, the responsibility for the fact that for several years the country cannot achieve restoration rests entirely with the leadership of the VFLA.

A number of colleagues spoke in support of Lasickene, including the long jumper Daria Klishina. At the same time, sprinter Sergei Shubenkov considers the resignation request unconstructive.

“I think it can be understood and forgiven. It is felt that she is disappointed and, perhaps, has every right to do so. But personally, I am not a supporter of overclocking everyone at once. In my opinion, this is not constructive. Before you change someone, you need to find a good replacement for them, ”said Shubenkov.

On the eve of the Doha World Cup, information appeared that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) may be denied compliance status, and therefore the team risks being suspended from participating in the 2020 Olympic Games. Then, Lasickene again criticized the VFLA, saying that she was ready to train outside the country to resolve the issue of the doping test procedure.

“We are no longer the ones in front of Rio. Now we will fully defend our right to speak at the Olympics. We will no longer subscribe to any class action lawsuits. If you need to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (CAS), I’ll go and fight there for myself, ”the athlete wrote.

After such a statement, some fans suggested that Lasicki might even decide to change sports citizenship. However, her personal trainer Gennady Gabrilyan assured that this is not a radical decision.