“He resigned from all his duties”
Rio de Janeiro – The famous Russian pentathlete Alexander Lesun, 2016 Olympic champion, gave an interview to the BBC, where he announced the end of his sports career.
“I was proud to race under the Russian flag. Russia has always been dear to my heart, something powerful, wonderful. And now I’m not talking about politics or the military, I’m talking about people, about the beauty of nature. I always felt a connection with the country, – quotes the words of the athlete press.
– I left all sports posts two days before everything started. I feel? Can I swear in an interview? To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I understand that the world will never be the same. The situation inside Russia is getting extremely difficult. Previously, you could be detained for 15 days for attending a rally. Now it’s up to three years. Or even 15 years for any other type of protest.
Athletes in Russia are a tool. propaganda tool. Of course, each person must decide for himself what to do. But now she has to live with it.
I am sorry to state that Russian athletes cannot influence the situation in any way. And most of them don’t even understand what’s going on.”
The interview quickly resonated, and the world and Russian media spread the news that Lesun left the Russian national team due to a special operation in Ukraine. True, the athlete himself soon denied such a statement of the question.
“The vector in this material is very variable and I was shocked by it. It looks like my words, but the journalists changed the vector of my expressions. I said in February that I finished my sports career. And I don’t want to compete in the modern pentathlon anymore. This has nothing to do with special ops in Ukraine,” said Lesun Match to the TV.
– I did not refuse to play for Russia because of the political situation. I ended my career because of what is going on in the modern pentathlon world in general and personal moments associated with our federation.
I was living in Belarus, I came to Russia and it was Russia that made me the Olympic champion, it was the Russian coaching staff. I understand perfectly. I applied to the Russian Federation of Modern Pentathlon and they said they don’t need me anymore. I will look further.
They offered to become a fencing expert, but still not at the level I expected. There is a misunderstanding, so I will continue to look at the options.
iconic athlete
Lesun is truly an iconic athlete for Russia in the modern pentathlon. He is one of only three domestic Olympians and four Olympic medalists in such a program.
In 1996, Eduard Zenovka won the silver medal in Atlanta, Dmitry Svatkovsky won the first Russian Olympic gold in the pentathlon at the subsequent Games, Andrey Moiseev won two consecutive Olympics in 2004 and 2008.
Lesun already competed in London in 2012, but the pentathlete, who was born on Belarusian soil in the then Soviet Union, finished in the most insulting fourth place, although the final race started in third place.
Four years later, he did more than come back in Brazil, setting Olympic and world records in fencing and winning the overall pentathlon standings.
They were expected to see Lesun in the competitive program in Tokyo in 2021, but the transferred coronavirus not only was unable to get in shape due to its consequences, but did not even really recover at the start. rivalry.
But Lesun’s achievements aren’t just limited to Olympic awards. The 33-year-old athlete has amassed an impressive collection of awards and trophies throughout his glorious career. He is a four-time champion, five-time silver medalist and two-time bronze medalist at world championships.
He also won four gold medals and one bronze at the continent’s championships.
Interestingly, Lesun himself was an employee of the National Guard, with the rank of senior lieutenant, which he received immediately after the victory in Rio.
“He hasn’t been on the team for a long time”
Lesun’s statements were interpreted by the President of the Russian Pentathlon Federation Vyacheslav Aminov.
“His statements are his personal opinion. He cannot play for the Russian national team, as he has been out of the national team for a long time. He is also not in the coaching staff. Match TV official, I think this is an emotional personal opinion not shared by the federation and the technical team.
– What disagreements can occur when he has not been in the national team for a long time? I know you want to go to a country, sent your resume somewhere. But as far as I know, no one took it.
It is clear that he is worried. I think it will calm down. If he comes to his senses and obeys all the rules in the federation, we will most likely have a future.”
“I trust Lesun”
For socialbites.ca, the famous biathlete, former head of the Russian Biathlon Union Alexander Tikhonov commented on the situation.
“Do we have a problem of attitude towards athletes from various federations? There is a big problem. Well, tell me: what does it matter if in our country athletics was expelled from the international federation, the biathlon flew because of doping? For a long time we were expelled from everywhere, and special ops had nothing to do with it. We will not settle things inside,” says Tikhonov.
– See what’s happening in the Federations. A simple example of my biathlon sport: [вице-президент СБР Алексей] Needs – FSB Colonel. [Исполнительный директор Александр] Pak – It’s unclear how many years he’s been hanging out there and not finding a place anywhere. We were kicked out of the international federation, deprived of all international beginnings. It’s been 15 years since my team left SBR – what do we have? Complete isolation.
Just an intrigue. Two departments, the Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Sports – did anyone intervene? No longer a single problem can be solved. And if Lesun is talking about a mess in the federation, I have no doubt about it – in the case of biathlon and athletics. ARAF elects a person from Samara (ARAF head Dmitry Shlyakhtin – socialbites.ca in 2016-2019) and the president must be in Moscow. Is this normal?