“They don’t want our return”: Norway expressed dissatisfaction with Stupak’s activities on the World Cup tracks in Italy

"I expect action will be taken"

Russian skiers have been deprived of the opportunity to compete in international competitions for almost a year now.

And the situation does not seem to change dramatically in the near future.

In any case, until the FIS is ready to make concessions to them even in small things.

The scandal that erupted around the training of Yulia Stupak on the tracks in Italy, where the World Cup stages are held, was indicative.

The fact that the Olympic champion in Beijing is engaged there, complained Norwegian Tiril Veng.

She confirmed that she saw a rival in Toblach, and said that about two weeks ago, a Russian woman was noticed on the track in Livigno.

In turn, the President of the country's Ski Federation and FIS board member Eric Röste expressed dissatisfaction with this fact.

“I do not know the current rules for the entry and stay in Italy of citizens of Belarus and Russia.

It is obvious that she will not train on WC courses without clearance.

The Council of the Ski Federation made such a decision, and I expect that measures will be taken in this regard, ”the VG official quotes.

FIS Race Director Michal Lamplot explained the situation.

According to him, Stupak got to the stadium in a special vest, which is issued to persons accredited to participate in the tournament.

He promised not to let this happen again.

“I did not know that she was on the track where the competition is held, wearing a vest.

However, this happened, and we figured out where she got the costume from.

We spoke with the team and told them that it is only for the athletes who will be racing and warned that this will not happen again, ”Lamplot said in a conversation with NRK.

The former head coach of the Russian national team Markus Kramer also spoke about the incident.

He stressed that the athlete came to Italy to prepare for the February stage of the Russian Cup.

According to the expert, her lessons on local tracks should not be perceived as a problem.

"He takes on too much"

In Russia, the Norwegians' complaints were received with incomprehension.

The team coach Yuri Borodavko reacted most harshly to them.

He advised the Scandinavians to first pay attention to their own doping problems, and also expressed bewilderment due to the fact that the FIS is going to dictate to skiers where to train.

“He takes on too much.

Russian athletes are not allowed to compete, but they can also train wherever they want.

It would be better if Röste did not hide doping scandals in his federation and did not go where they were not asked, ”the specialist said in a commentary to Sport Express.

“All these years he hid doping scandals in his country, and now he is preventing people who are simply suspended from competitions from being in Europe.

This person has stained himself for a long time and should not be at the helm of Norwegian skiing, ”Borodavko emphasized.

He explained the trip of the ward to Livigno by the fact that the local height is ideal for preparing for the main starts.

Stupak should stay there until the Championship Heights competition, which starts on February 23 in the Arkhangelsk region.

At the same time, Elena Vyalbe, President of the Russian Ski Racing Federation, assured that the trip of the Olympic champion to another country is not associated with a possible change of sports citizenship.

Veronika Stepanova also stood up for her teammate, noting that the “Norwegian partners” do not have the right to decide where the Russians can hold training camps.

“In most of Europe, we are welcome, as they were waiting, and they are waiting.

And “we are not going to hide from anyone,” I have already quoted this quote.

Train in Russia?

Our choice!

It makes sense to work in Italy, which means we will train in Italy.

For their own, for prize money from sponsors, for example.

Come on, take it!"

- Stepanova wrote in the Telegram channel.

“FIS is not interested in our return”

According to experts interviewed by RT, the FIS reaction in this situation is difficult to explain with anything other than hostility.

So, the 1982 world champion Alexander Zavyalov believes that in some countries they still do not want to see Russians, even if they come there to get in shape.

As an example, he cited Norway, which was more active than others in favor of imposing sanctions.

“They clearly said: if you are allowed to start on the territory of our country, we will not be able to guarantee your safety.

Say, residents of domestic skiers will not be happy.

The same thing is happening now with Stupak, although she does not pretend to participate in the race, but simply trains in Italy.

What to do, they do not want us to trample on their land.

There is nothing to be surprised here.

But I don’t see anything wrong with this: our guys and at home prepare no worse than anywhere else, ”Zavyalov emphasized.

Three-time Olympic medalist Maxim Vylegzhanin also expressed bewilderment about this.

However, he is also sure that even the introduction of a ban on entry into Europe will not affect the shape of the Russians.

“It is completely incomprehensible to me why our skiers, including Stupak, cannot train on the tracks where the KM races take place.

After all, access there is open to everyone - regardless of the FIS sanctions.

But even if Yulia is now banned from working in Europe, this should not be a big problem for her.

With the removal from international starts, domestic skiers work in Russia and do not experience any difficulties.

The entire training volume is performed.

Well, Stupak obviously went there not to prepare for the KM.

It just happened," Vylegzhanin suggested.

Both agreed that what happened indicates one thing: the FIS is not going to remove restrictions from the Russians, although their absence negatively affects the level of competition.

According to Zavyalov, on the contrary, they are satisfied that the Norwegians win the maximum awards.

“The same goes for other winter species.

Remove the main rivals for a year or two - and the Norwegians will again become the undisputed leaders everywhere.

And the fact that they collect medals with almost no competition is of no interest to anyone.

After all, the names of non-participating skiers are not entered into the protocol.

Distributed awards and happy.

They want to be clear favorites,” added the world champion.

And Vylegzhanin advised to ask relevant questions to the representatives of the international federation.

“Of course, it is very upsetting that so far they are not meeting the Russians halfway even in such minor issues.

This leads to one conclusion: the FIS is not really interested in our return and does not yet want it.

It is difficult to say whether they are afraid of us, ”summed up the expert.

In turn, RT columnist Elena Vaitsekhovskaya spoke about the act of Weng, who complained about Stupak's training in Italy.

She advised not to look for political overtones in the behavior of the Norwegian, but called it a manifestation of the Western mentality, on the basis of which a person is obliged to report a violation.

“This is not even a condemnation, not a desire to do something nasty (although, of course, this happens), but it has been hammered into the head since childhood: if you see a violation, you must report it.

Because everything must be in order.

The most anecdotal of the examples that I remember is in Australia with the famous weightlifter Yurik Sargsyan.

On the occasion of the family's housewarming in Melbourne, he bought a ram, slaughtered it in the backyard, cooked a barbecue, set the table in the best traditions of Armenian hospitality, and invited neighbors.

Everyone ate and drank with great pleasure, a few hours later the neighbors went home, and half an hour later the police arrived.

Find out where Yurik took the ram and whether he brutally slaughtered it.

Neighbors called, ”Vaitsekhovskaya recalled.