“I can’t allow myself to be silent”: Lasicki on criticism of the VFLA, the struggle for the rights of athletes and a neutral status

- In what condition do you start the Olympic season?

- Unfortunately, not in which I would like. The All-Russian Athletics Federation (VFLA) and athletes are in a very deplorable position. For the past three years, we have been in neutral status, and now we do not even have the right to do so. Every start is very important for me, I need competition at the highest level. What is happening now has a negative impact on preparations for the Olympics, if at all it is possible to go to it.

However, I continue to believe that everything will work out, I train with full dedication, I work on myself. If the situation does not change before the end of winter, I will participate in domestic competitions. Ahead of me is waiting for a very interesting start “Battle of the Sexes”, the championship of Russia. Honestly, I’m already so used to everything that these problems do not affect my mood.

- Even before the decision of WADA to remove Russia for four years, it became known that you were expelled from the Glasgow tournament. Is there a way out of this situation?

“This is not the biggest trouble.” At the moment, I can’t speak abroad at all. Yes, the competition situation in Glasgow left a residue. But I try not to pay attention to it. Indeed, at the same time, there are organizers who are eagerly awaiting Russians at their place, even under a neutral flag. It is our athletes who create competition, and some disciplines without us will completely lose their entertainment. But now we are struggling with more global problems.

- Do you have any idea how this fight should go?

- I have to fight exclusively in the sector, with the bar and with my rivals. But for four years I have to deal with other things myself: to conduct dialogues with officials, ask them questions, write open letters. Yes, I would do that anyway, as I stand for a clean and honest sport. But now athletes are in a terrible situation and are forced to participate in this fight, regardless of their desire. Unfortunately, our actions are ignored. Of course, this will not stop us, we have the right to go to the start.

- How do you manage to strike a balance between training and fighting for your rights?

- If I were silent, this balance would be lost. Unfortunately, we already have experience in 2016, when the athletes were completely in the dark, then they filed a class action lawsuit, but this did not lead to anything. And at 23, I had to miss the first Olympics. And for someone, she could be the last. I can not afford to be silent, quietly train and just wait on the sidelines. After all, the issues raised by us should help future generations of athletes, pay attention to important topics.

For example, a commission of athletes asked to postpone the election of the head of the VFLA to an earlier date. We have been ringing the bells since the end of the year because we understood that the World Athletics Admission Committee should see that Russia is trying to rectify the situation. And we are only taking cosmetic measures and it only gets worse.

- Have you consulted with lawyers about the issue of your getting to the Olympics in Tokyo?

- VFLA has been suspended, my rights have long been violated. In 2016, we already went to court. I was as pure a sportswoman as now, but they refused me. Now it is necessary to deal with the restoration of the status of the federation, its return to the athletics family.

- What is it like to continue training, knowing that the situation has only worsened, that you do not have the opportunity to go to the start at the international level?

- No other way. If a person loves his job, believes in him, then he will have the strength. To give up is the easiest thing to do. Therefore, I do not even look in this direction. I continue to train with the hope of new starts, the fact that I will have the opportunity to protect the status of the world champion in athletics in the room, which will be able to systematically approach the Olympics. And how to live differently?

- How did your foreign colleagues react to the current situation?

- I would not say that I communicate closely with one of them. I think that if there are such people who sincerely worry, then they do not want to come back to this painful topic for me once again. Yes, they pity me, but I do not need pity. The main thing is that my relatives and fans support me.

- So, in the process of preparing for the competition, are you trying to abstract from the rest of the world?

- My personal trainer Gennady Gabrielyan and I are on our own. We train on the basis of CSKA, sometimes we return to our native Cool. Yes, we can go to general training camps, but for now I don’t need this. I deal with everything myself, the manager is involved in organizational matters. My husband and friends are very helpful.

- For the commission of athletes of VFLA, you have created a separate page on Instagram. How much time does this activity take? What response does she receive?

- Honestly, so far we haven’t got so many letters. Someone sends words of support, someone asks questions. We know something, we’re only going to work on something. For example, they ask about the selection criteria for the national team, equipment. So far, the commission operates within the framework of the existing charter, but we want to expand our powers, increase the membership, organize a lively working process. Yes, it takes time, but we knew what we were going to and what we wanted.

- What are your goals?

- The Commission is working to ensure that the current situation around VFLA is no longer repeated, that our colleagues are reliably protected and have the opportunity to go to the start so that the younger generation can see it. In 2016, I myself was still young and no one could explain anything to me. We want to show that we stand for justice.

- Unlike other sports, the situation in athletics is only getting worse. Do you admit that nothing can be changed?

- Unfortunately, there is such a possibility, because nothing happened in four years. But you need to continue to fight, train, seek justice. I wish with all my heart that something has changed. And I’m doing everything that depends on me for this. I don’t know what result this will lead to, but bad thoughts, of course, also creep in.

“How do you escape from them?”

“I just drop it, get distracted, tell myself that everything will be fine.” Yes, we have negative experience, but the athletes themselves have changed in four years. Now we are ready to tear and throw, go to the end. And personally, I am ready for this.

- Suppose that the situation still does not change until the Olympics in Tokyo. What are your actions?

- Honestly, we haven’t thought so far yet. Because there is still hope that we will begin the summer season at least in a neutral status. Yes, it’s absurd that this is progress for us, but there is no other choice. But if the VFLA remains in the same position, no court will help.

- Do you believe that something will change in the federation itself?

- I would like. But for this a new team must come with a different philosophy, with a desire to really help, fight for the rights of athletes. Overhaul needed. But so far there is no dialogue even between the VFLA and the IAAF. In our federation, they claim that everything is at an impasse.

- There is an opinion that an athlete is ashamed to speak under a neutral flag. How do you personally feel about this?

- It's a shame that, in principle, it came to such a situation. There are internal problems that no one has resolved in four years. People do not understand that an athlete gives a lot to his business. The age of the athlete ends at 40, and I don’t have time to wait for the situation to improve. I am an athlete, I show my professionalism and win medals in the sector. It is unacceptable for me that my career be destroyed in this way. Please do your best to protect my rights! In addition, everyone knows that we are from Russia. It seems to me that some are surprised when they see a neutral flag next to our surnames.