“It's hard to rejoice when someone is suspended”: Fourcade - on sanctions against Russian athletes

“It is upset that Russia was removed. This is a sad time for your sport. ”

The topic of serious sanctions imposed by WADA on Russia continues to excite world sports, including biathlon. After the promulgation of the hard verdict, many well-known biathletes came out in support of Russia. And on the eve of the home stage of the World Cup in Annecy, this was also done by one of the most deserved athletes, a five-time Olympic champion and seven-time winner of the World Cup, Martin Fourcade.

The Frenchman has often publicly commented on this topic, and at first he spoke quite harshly against Russia, while he completely offended Alexander Loginov. However, over time, he changed his point of view and even stood up for Anton Shipulin when he was not given an invitation to the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. Now Fourcade said he was not happy with the decision of WADA. At the same time, he suggested that sanctions would benefit domestic sports only.

“It's hard to rejoice when someone is suspended for such violations. But in light of Russia's actions in the past, especially after the Sochi Olympics and the recent manipulation of samples, it was important to apply such sanctions. I am sure that the Russians have learned a valuable lesson and will benefit from this in the future. Russia is important for sports, but it is important that the mentality changes in this country, ”Fourcade quotes“ Championship ”.

“I’m upset that Russia was removed. This is a sad time for your sport. Individual athletes will continue to play in neutral status if they can prove that they are “clean”. And that's great, ”Fourcade said.

He called the punishment "very harsh." But, according to him, the world feels that Russia “made serious mistakes” during the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.

“Russia had many opportunities to move on, forget about those mistakes and win the respect of the whole world again. But now Russia has stepped on the same rake. It is important that all this ceases and the mentality changes dramatically, as I said. I know that in Russia people feel that they have been betrayed. They are always proud of their country, therefore they are very upset, ”Fourcade added.

Martin also admitted that, despite everything that happens, he respects Russia and Russian biathletes with respect.

“Of course, I take this topic to heart. Now I know that it is not for me to decide whether to remove Russia or not. In general, I have a lot of fans in Russia, whom I respect immensely. Like the Russian athletes I compete with, ”concluded Fourcade.

This position of one of the most honored biathletes in history contrasts with the harsh statements of the main critic of the Russian sport, Swede Sebastian Samuelsson, who has repeatedly called for serious sanctions to be imposed on Russia. So, after the verdict of the WADA executive committee, the biathlete emphasized that Russians should not be not only at the world championships, but also at the stages of the planet's cup. However, after a while he softened his rhetoric. For example, Sebastian said that the complete removal of the country is impossible.

“I want Russia to remain part of the sports world, and I hope that people who make such statements understand that a complete removal is impossible. It is good that the “pure” Russian athletes still have the opportunity to speak. But the criteria should be clear, because the situation is not simple: perhaps people cheated, but you don’t know who exactly. All this, of course, is sad, ”Tass quotes Samuelsson.

“You cannot take and cross out Russia, and Fourcade understands this perfectly”

Fourcade’s last statement caused a considerable resonance in Russia. Two-time Olympic champion Anna Bogaliy admitted that Marten’s rhetoric did not surprise her.

“Fourcade has been performing at the World Cup for many years, and athletes of this level are only happy to compete. They want to compete with the fittest. Now the Russian team is in perfect order. You can see this from the performances of the same Matvey Eliseev with Alexander Loginov. True, the latter may have problems due to the doping past, ”said Bogaliy RT.

According to the two-time Olympic champion, everyone understands that it is impossible to completely remove Russia from the world biathlon.

“Russia is one of the founders of the world biathlon, for many years we set the tone and developed this sport. Therefore, Russia cannot be taken out and crossed out, and Fourcade understands this very well. Martin has visited us more than once; he has many fans in the country. He always said that he likes Russia, ”added Bogaliy.

“Martin says what is beneficial to him. I would not idealize him. ”

According to the two-time Olympic champion Dmitry Vasiliev, Fourcade often changes his point of view depending on the situation.

“More recently, he said completely different things, and now he’s changed his shoes.” Apparently, I felt criticism from Russia. Therefore, it surprises me that Fourcade realized: it is premature to make harsh statements before the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). At the very least, speaking out before the final verdict is unprofessional, but at the most - indecent. After all, these are your colleagues. Well done, that he worked on the bugs and made the right conclusions. It does him honor. But his rhetoric changes depending on the situation. Marten says what is beneficial to him. I would not idealize it, ”Vasiliev said in an interview with RT.

Also, the two-time Olympic champion spoke out about constant criticism of Russia from Samuelsson. The expert believes that in this way the Swede is trying to PR, moreover, his results have recently left much to be desired.

“You should not attack anyone in vain if you do not know the whole essence of the issue, all the details. And Samuelsson just wants to make a name for himself on such statements. There is such a sort of people who like to criticize everyone around, and even logs are not seen in their eyes. Let him talk further. The whole world is ill with doping, and Russia is far from the most important villain. Maybe on the contrary we are white and fluffy. They just appointed us guilty for political reasons, ”added Vasiliev.