Sports commentator and presenter Dmitry Guberniev talked about the attitude towards Russian athletes in world biathlon and skiing. In an interview with socialbites.ca, he said that without Russians, skiing has lost its popularity, adding that biathlon will be the last sport in which Russian representatives will be allowed to re-participate in international competitions.
“There are now more and more calls to pay attention to the Olympic Charter – Ole Einar Bjoerndalen talked about it in biathlon, Federico Pellegrino talked about it among skiers. But without the Russians, skiing is quietly dying; Whether we want it or not, it is a completely local sport. When it comes to biathlon, the geography is wider and Russia’s influence is not that great. But in any case, without Russia and the Republic of Belarus, the ratings of world competitions are falling, after all, we played a noticeable role.
Interest continues to be shown in our biathlon, people draw attention to the participation of Russians in certain tournaments and try to prevent it, once again declaring legendary additional sanctions – and what other additional sanctions could there be? We are already separate. I have expressed this opinion before: Biathlon will be the last sport we return to, it will be a sport where anti-Russian sentiments are very strong. But we still have to go our own way, and that’s what we’re doing. We organize our own competitions, which are very actively followed not only by “Match”’s target audience, but also universally. By the way, I am very proud of this because it is perhaps the only television product that has a universal audience of 4+ on the Match TV channel, it can compete even with the big channels. And this is our common victory; spectators, athletes, coaches.
Biathlon is interesting. Yes, Russia held its first club tournament without any problems. The international federation was also against it. But now the first relay races within the framework of the Russian Cup have shown that interest in biathlon is great and the country is still waiting for it. And as a commentator I expect this, my heart beats no less when watching the competition between Belarusians and Russians.
Yes, the World Cup is indeed the truest sport, the sport most needed and promoted, there is no doubt about that. We want to perform where it is better and we will perform there, but now we have no choice but to go our own way,” Guberniev is convinced.
Previously Guberniev named he is the main affectionate calf of Russian television.
Source: Gazeta
Gregory Robert is a sports aficionado and a writer for “Social Bites”. He provides in-depth coverage of the latest sporting events and trends, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the world of sports.