“Respect in any case should be”: how the conflicts of Bolshunov and Ustyugov become the main event of the Russian Cup

"If there is a hindrance and you stumble, it's not the most pleasant"

The confrontation between Alexander Bolshunov and Sergey Ustyugov does not let Russian fans miss international competitions.

Almost every race of the Cup of Russia with their participation is not complete without a collision of famous skiers.

The stage in Krasnogorsk was no exception.

After the Sunday finals of the sprint, everyone discussed only another conflict.

During the race, Bolshunov cut off his compatriot twice and did not allow him to rise above fifth place.

As a result, he himself became the second, having passed only Alexander Terentyev ahead.

The behavior of the opponent caused a harsh reaction from Ustyugov, who refused to shake his hand after the finish.

And the very next day, the Russian Ski Racing Federation (FLGR) made a decision on this incident.

The three-time Olympic champion was found guilty and given a warning.

The judging committee considered that a native of the Bryansk region "interfered with other participants."

At the headquarters of the Russian national team, the verdict was met calmly.

The head coach of the national team, Yuriy Borodavko, called the decision fair and stressed that his ward did not commit gross violations that could lead to damage to equipment or injury.

According to him, Alexander also reacted normally to what happened.

But Ivan Bragin, Ustyugov's mentor, who was preparing for the current season in the region and formally dropped out of the national team, complained that imposing sanctions on an opponent would not change the result of the sprint.  

“I would like their fight to be in the last hundred meters.

I wanted to see how they would compete with each other.

And whoever is stronger at the moment would win.

I am not in favor of punishing anyone, I am not against Bolshunov, Terentev and anyone else.

I am for fair sport without violations, and there they will judge as a ski track - whoever is stronger will win ... The judges saw a violation: it means that I was not the only one who noticed it, ”the Championship specialist quotes.

At the same time, immediately after the finish, the athletes did not hide their emotions.

Ustyugov emphasized that it is unacceptable to behave in this way even at the stages of the World Cup, when you compete with foreigners, and admitted that he would never allow himself such a thing. 

“If I cut somewhere, then I don’t jump on the boots, the ends of the skis, I try not to knock down.

You can slow down, but within reason.

And if there is a hindrance and you stumble, this is not the most pleasant thing ... They came up to me just now and said that nothing was visible.

So, it seemed to me, as in Kirovo-Chepetsk.

In principle, everything is fine, nothing happened, it turns out.

I will then see what happened in the broadcast, but I will draw certain conclusions for myself, ”R-Sport quotes the words of the two-time world champion.

According to Ustyugov, immediately after the finish, he approached Bolshunov and said that it was so ugly and not human to behave.

Then Sergei shook hands with all the opponents, except for him.

Bragin added fuel to the fire, recalling that this was not the first time Alexander had acted “in a petty unsportsmanlike manner”, and complained about the judges who initially did not record the violations.

The three-time Olympic champion was not slow to respond.

He saw the reason for the opponent's insults in a special attitude towards him.

Allegedly, Bolshunov has become the main irritant for Ustyugov, and in every race he wants to defeat him.

As for the most controversial episode, the team leader lamented that he had no choice but to occupy the inside radius before a sharp turn and cut off a competitor.

“Does Ustyugov think the rules were broken?

Well, let him run around with the camera now.

Listen, when he advanced, closed in Chusovoy, no one saw this, and everyone said that everything was fine.

I came and told him the same thing.

Now I interfered with him a little, everyone immediately breaks down on me, his coach waters me.

I'm not going to offend anyone, prove it on the track, go out and show the result.

If Sergei wants, I would run the superfinal with him to find out who is stronger.

You can even go on different ski tracks, ”Bolshunov expressed his point of view.

Borodavko put an end to the dispute, promising that in the near future a conversation not for the media would take place within the team, in which the exciting topic would be discussed.

"We should not be offended by each other"

The first conflict between eminent athletes flared up at the previous stage of the Kyrgyz Republic in Chusovoy.

The two-time world champion came to the competition for the first time this season and unexpectedly won the sprint, ahead of Bolshunov and Terentyev.

After that, he called his opponents bags, because he managed, without preparing with the national team, to leave behind its leaders.

The answer of the three-time Olympic champion turned out to be as tough as possible.

In his opinion, by the start in the Perm Territory, Ustyugov gained better condition than by the Olympic Games in Beijing, where he "was nothing."

The skier also emphasized that Sergey was rude about the people who actually made him the Olympic gold medalist in the relay.

However, the ending of the "bag" dispute turned out to be quite good.

At the end of the final race of the stage, Bolshunov, together with Ilya Semikov and Denis Spitsov, put large white bags on their feet on the podium, causing the laughter of those present.

Moreover, Alexander stressed that he was on good terms with Ustyugov.

“Did they offer Sergei to wear it too?

He took it as a commemorative prize.

We should not be offended by each other, we should have fun.

This is still a competition, a holiday, even in a sense, a show.

I posted a photo yesterday, and some foreigners asked: “Is this the same bag that everyone is cursing about?”

They don’t understand what he has to do with it, ”Match TV quotes Bolshunov.

"Personal relationships must remain in the team"

The opinions of experts about the regular clashes between the two eminent skiers were divided.

For example, the 2013 world champion Alexei Petukhov believes that they have long gone beyond the show and have gone too far into the negative.

“In my opinion, if there is negativity inside the Russian team, it should not go out and become the property of the media and the public.

You should create a show, as Petter Northug did in his time.

And all personal relationships must remain in the team.

Otherwise, you need to follow the rules.

But, perhaps, in this situation, someone initially behaved incorrectly, ”Petukhov noted in a commentary on RT.

He is sure that such public conflicts will only harm the national team, as they will divide the fans into two camps.

Therefore, the world champion urged the opponents to sort things out among themselves as soon as possible.

He also noted that, if necessary, the president of the FLGR, Elena Vyalbe, should intervene.

But a member of the presidium of the federation, Sergei Kryanin, on the contrary, did not see anything terrible in what was happening.

According to him, this only attracts interest in the tournament and the whole sport.

“The intrigue in the Russian Cup races lives to the end.

And in the heat of competition, skiers can make infractions.

This happened regularly at the World Cup.

Bolshunov suffered a well-deserved punishment, especially since there was no talk of any harsh actions on his part.

The judges ruled according to the rules.

Thank God, there were no breakage of skis and injuries.

But I think it's great when the guys really compete with each other and are eager to be the first, ”Kryanin emphasized.

At the same time, he also urged both to draw the right conclusions from the last clash and no longer be rude.

“As for Ustyugov’s refusal to shake hands with Bolshunov, let them sort it out among themselves.

I think that already at the next start the i will be dotted, and in a fair fight they will find out who is stronger.

But Sasha is also obliged to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Mutual respect in any case must be present.

This is a lesson for both,” added Kryanin.