“Even Hitler, an absolute evil, allowed everyone to go to the Olympics. How then to perceive the remoteness of Russia? Interview with Mikhail Mamiashvili

The president of the Wrestling Federation, present at the Spartakiade in Kazan, answered questions from the special correspondent of .

– Athletes talk about the Spartakiad in different ways. For some it’s the main start of the season, for others it’s competitive training. How do you rate the wrestling tournament in Kazan?

– I agree that the tasks and goals of athletes are different. Some leaders decided not to participate in the Spartakiad at all, having their own reasons. Mini-wounds, for example. But for the majority, this is a good opportunity to gain tournament experience, after all, the strongest in the country came to Kazan. We speak with you, and on the mat right now Gadzhimurad Rashidov, world champion and Olympic medalist. Serious level.

– Could the Russian Wrestling Federation (FSBR) influence the participation of all the strongest in Kazan?

— I think the regions should show maximum interest and responsibility here. The Spartakiad development vector is exactly what the president of the country is talking about, in particular, it was said in the presidential council on sports. Children’s, youth and mass sports in the regions are closely linked to these start-ups. In this sense, it is important to assess the attitude towards the Spartakiad after its completion. Perhaps it is worth starting the compilation of a ranking of regions. When he appears, probably, all the strongest will participate in the Spartakiads, without exception.

But even now the representative office in Kazan is strong. In each weight category – winners and winners of Olympic, World and European championships. In addition, it is a great opportunity for young people. Both in terms of prospects and in terms of prize pool.

– Which of the “tops” could decorate the Spartakiad, but avoided participation?

– For one reason or another, there are not three Olympic champions – Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Zaur Uguev and Zaurbek Sidakov. Hopefully we will see them at the second stage of the professional league in Poddubny, which will be held in Moscow in October.

– In 1983, you yourself won the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR. Is it comparable to the current tournament in terms of level?

– It is difficult to compare, so the union republics took part. Moscow won in the team classification and I had the chance to play a role in the category up to 74 kg. And Russia, for example, the RSFSR, took only seventh place. Can you imagine what the competition was like? However, the level is not bad today. A serious event, a balance sheet of ambitions.

– Clarifying the situation with the wrestlers from Dagestan, for whom the region did not pay for the trip to Kazan, or offered to go there at its own expense, and later a rebuttal followed.

– The Spartakiad will end, we will find out. Yet an important region for the fight, the strongest school. If the situation was known in advance, at least a few days in advance, we could, in the common interest, solve the problem through joint efforts. Already something, but the struggle of Dagestan deserves attention and respect.

– In the Greco-Roman part of the program, the lightweight Amayak Osipov, world champion among athletes with hearing loss, won in Kazan. Unique situation?

– Rare. But it happens. Alexey Shemarov was the 2011 world champion in the category up to 120 kg, he was the strongest competition for the rest, then he began to participate in tournaments for the hearing impaired. Already at the age, he is under 40, but he still competes.

– The double Olympic champion Roman Vlasov at 31 is in very good condition. He won the Spartakiad and hopes to develop success on the international stage. Did the fact that he didn’t go to the Tokyo Olympics boost the wrestler?

– I would not like to go over this situation in detail, but I think that our common mistake has taken place. And the trainers who were in charge of the weight class, and the officials. I also take no responsibility for myself. Roman is a strong and worthy athlete, he shows a high level. A few days after Tokyo won the world championship in Budapest, confirmed its leadership.

— Why didn’t Natalia Vorobieva, champion of London and winner of Rio, come to Kazan?

– As far as I know, she no longer has active sports activities. I heard out of the corner of my ear that he hopes to get back to training and performing, but for now, that’s it.

Rio silver medalist Valeria Koblova retired at the age of 29. Not early?

– Lera had a fairly difficult sporting career: many injuries, the hardest recovery. The situation with our suspension was probably also affected. An unprecedented violation not even of sports regulations, but of human rights, no matter how trivial it may seem. Taken and thrown out of the sports world. It is ridiculous to talk about rights after such a decision.

– How much did this demotivate Russian wrestlers?

– It affected the moral component, of course. People have devoted most of their lives to hard and exhausting work. Not least for the sake of world and Olympic prospects. And they were shown the door, and even in a cruel and illegal form. Hitler allowed all athletes in the 1936 Olympics. Hitler! Absolutely evil turned out to be more tolerant than those who drove out Russia now. How to perceive it then?

– You said you didn’t see the point of contacting the CAS. But Russian judo still hopes to stay on the international stage.

And we eat. It is clear that we will not be allowed to participate in the World Championship this year, but at least they will give an intelligible explanation for why the Russians are not participating in the selection for the Olympic Games. In connection with the special operation? But we remember very well when the democratic world bombed fraternal Serbia, the Serbs had no right to compete, not those who bombed them.

– In football, the suspension is motivated by security measures. How to raise participants on the grid? How to prevent incidents outside sports venues?

– And what about hooligans and public order offenders? There are special services for this, taxes are deducted for this, what kind of nonsense? These are the tasks and problems of the relevant structures, which they solve by virtue of their functions. Or have we not seen fights between British fans and others in European cities? Or didn’t they crush Manezhka in 2002? No one has linked politics to this.

– What competitions are planned for the end of the year, except for the second stage of the Poddubny league?

– Tournaments of Ivan Yarygin and for the prizes of Buvaisar Saitiev in Krasnoyarsk. An interesting and meaningful area for us. We will definitely fly there, we have to revive it a lot, strengthen it and solve the personnel problem. Governor and on. The Ministers of Sports of the Territory are ready to work qualitatively for the future, now it is very important. We will also visit Omsk, the city of glorious wrestling traditions. There is a good reason to systematize and establish a sports economy in the country. You can not miss it.

– No match is planned with Belarusians or Iranians?

– We will send a team to Minsk for the tournament in memory of Alexander Medved. We hope to welcome teams from Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and other sister states to the Konstantin Vyrupaev tournament in Irkutsk. We are waiting for them in the Poddubny Moscow League, productive negotiations are underway on this.