Elena Vyalbe, winner of three gold and four bronze medals at the Olympic Games, 14-time world champion and current president of the Russian Ski Racing Federation, gave a resounding interview in which she proposed a radical way to ensure the return of Russian athletes to skiing. International competitions under their flags and anthems.
“I will say things that should never be said. If we had dropped a serious bomb on central London it would have been over and we would have been allowed to go anywhere.
Russia’s struggle with the entire outside world has been going on for centuries. Even if we pretend to be loved, we are never loved. They always stand with a sharpening point behind them. I love that our country is strong, that our power disturbs the whole world,” Vyalbe told the portal. HABER.ru.
The three-time Olympic champion suggested that Russian athletes will sooner or later be allowed to participate in international competitions, but they will have to wait a long time for this event. According to him, even the end of a special military operation in Ukraine will not automatically lead to acceptance. Vyalbe expressed his desire to end the special operation as soon as possible, but noted that Russia must achieve all its goals.
“We are still a long way from the finish line,” the former skier emphasized.
In a telling interview, Vyalbe also harshly criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC). They call it a “dump.” According to him, “sport has always been in politics” but what is happening now is “not sports anymore”.
“For me, the IOC has ceased to exist as an organization that should support the ideals of Pierre de Coubertin and think about athletes and sports above all else. It’s kind of a dump, dealing with something obscure, but it’s certainly not an honest sport,” said the champion.
Additionally, the three-time Olympic champion said, “America is already broken.” According to Vyalbe, “there are impulses” that some American states will gain independence “if there is no civil war and they do not kill each other.”
State Duma urged Vyalbe to be more careful
First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Turin 2006 Speed Skating Olympic champion Svetlana Zhurova called Vyalbe’s statement a joke and urged him to choose his statements more carefully in the future.
According to the MP, the West may have been seriously frightened by loud words about bombing London. In addition, Zhurova believes that all problems should be resolved with the Ukrainian side, and the capital of Great Britain has nothing to do with it.
“Such a joke is dangerous because the West will begin to perceive it as aggression. For some reason they don’t understand these kinds of jokes and think that’s what we should do.
But a decision needs to be made with Ukraine, and London has nothing to do with it. Zhurova pointed out that no aspect of our attacks on NATO will end well for the whole world. “Lentoy.ru”.
Another State Duma deputy, former WBA world heavyweight boxing champion Nikolai Valuev, called Vyalbe’s words a manifestation of emotions and said that the disappearance of Great Britain from the face of the earth would not lead to anything in the long term.
“Why comment on emotions? If we imagine that in any of the previous six centuries the British Isles suddenly sank to the bottom of the sea, then for a certain period the problems of the rest of the world would indeed have sharply diminished – here Vyalbe is right. But human nature and the nature of the universe do not like a vacuum. “Others are coming to fill the vacant place,” he said. Sports24.
What are you thinking?
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.