On Sunday, NRK's columnist Jan Petter Saltvedt wrote in a column that "Bolshunov and other Russian skiers should not have been on the starting line in this Olympics", after Bolshunov's big victory in the men's skiathlon.
"It was a frustration that I felt for a long time and it is not against Russia, it is against the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and Cas (Sports Arbitration Court) and the reluctance of international organizations to give a punishment that really feels and has a preventive effect," he said. he to SVT Sport.
The chronicle provoked reactions in Russia.
- Some Russian media want to get an answer to what I really have against Russia and I continue to try to explain that Russia has become an expression of the IOC's unwillingness to deal with what is a problem, doping and punishment.
Boycotts until the king apologizes
Saltvedt believes that Russia has not received the punishment it should after the doping scandal at the Olympics in Sochi.
Russia never received the punishment after the biggest doping scandal of all time in Olympic contexts, at least the biggest that has been revealed.
On Tuesday, Saltvedt found out that Russia is boycotting the Norwegian press after his column.
- Our reporter at the stadium who speaks Russian had talked to her (Jelena Välbe), she came up with a series of proposals against me, NRK and Norwegians, about our propaganda and that we are bad losers.
She will boycott all Norwegian media until she receives an apology from King Harald, she said.
"I mean I blame Bolshunov"
The NRK journalist believes that his column has been misinterpreted.
- She (Välbe) thinks that I accuse Bolshunov of having doped herself, I do not.
What I write is that Bolshunov and Spitsov are a gift for cross-country skiing, they are innocent.
It is about an international sport that has not managed to set an example for the future, it is a big problem.
On Thursday, however, Välbe spoke quickly in the Norwegian media.
- I do not want to talk to Norwegian journalists at all.
They only say bad things about us, she says NRK Sport.
- They talk badly about Bolshunov.
The star of the attack on Instagram
On Thursday, the Russian star Veronika Stepanova published a post on Instagram where she attacks the Norwegian columnist and the entire NRK.
"Mr. Saltvedt, you really do not want to see me at the Olympics, do you? Sorry if I take it personally, but I think it seems that you want to deprive me of the right to participate in the games because you think it is "unfair". Unfair to whom, if I may ask?
", She writes and continues with a pass:
"
NRK seems to have lost the battle for the rights to the Olympics.
Are you trying to make up for it by being so loud?
”.
On Thursday evening, however, Stepanova announced that she will no longer boycott the Norwegian media, in an interview with Norwegian Dagbladet.
- No, no boycott on my part, she says to Dagbladet.
Jan Petter Saltvedt is clear that he has nothing against the Russian riders.
- I do not know what has disturbed Stepanova, but I have not said a word that something is wrong with the Russian riders who are in Beijing, I wish them luck, they only act based on the opportunities they have, they can be with in the Olympics and they are.