Olympic medalist and world bobsleigh champion Alexey Voevoda told what is happening in Russian bobsled in the face of the exclusion of Russian athletes from participation in international competitions. INSIDE report He told socialbites.ca that the Russian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation is run by people who have nothing to do with the sport.
“Unfortunately, bobsleigh is now run by people who have nothing to do with the business. When Alexander Zubkov became the head of the Federation, the pace of the processes accelerated under his and my management was still sufficient: athletes competed, interest in the competitions continued, and there was a busy international agenda.
When he took over as president of the Russian Bob Sled and Skeleton Federation, hysteria began with the cancellation of all sporting events in Russia. Some federations organized and organized international competitions, but our federation, together with all its supervising institutions, missed the opportunity to hold the World Championships on the track in Sochi.
Let me explain: this is not Alexander’s fault specifically, in general the situation was not in our favor. It was important to fight, to defend, to go to the president, to everyone. Defeat all international connections but continue the tournament. After all, this is the most important event after the Olympic Games,” said Voevoda.
He added that after Zubkov’s departure, officials emerged in the federation who “neither ideologically, nor functionally, nor economically understand bobsled and do not live in bobsleigh.” According to Voevoda, in both the Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, as well as many other federations, a “cleansing” of personnel is needed for the sport to thrive.
“Lift one, load one. If he is not the one financing this sport, why does the federation need him? “There must be a professional manager who understands the structure of the sport in which he is integrated,” concluded the athlete.
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