Panzhinsky, Olympic medalist: “You should not pay attention to the words of the mayor of Trondheim. He expresses his own point of view.”

2010 Olympic silver medalist in cross-country skiing Alexander Panzhinsky told that one should not pay attention to the words of the mayor of Trondheim, Norway, because he, as the owner of the city where the 2025 World Cup will be held, expresses his point of view.

Earlier, Trondheim Mayor Kent Ranum expressed the position of the local government, which does not intend to allow Russian athletes to compete. Trondheim will host the next World Ski Championships.

“The mayor should not decide who should speak and who should not.” The mayor, as the owner of the city where the World Cup will take place, is purely expressing his opinion. But we must not forget that the mayor is a representative of the political environment, the mayor, and we must not expect the mayor to have an opinion far removed from political opinions. Norwegians have a very negative view of our country, and all these politicians are trying to convey these views to athletes.

I am sure that in Norway many people have a positive or neutral attitude towards our athletes. But they are not asked about this, because this (this opinion – approx.) is unpopular. There is still a lot of time before the World Cup, the mayor of Trondheim may change, the political wind will change, and then opinions will change.

You should not pay much attention to the words of the mayor of Trondheim, you should communicate more with the sports officials, the International Ski Federation, because they are the ones who will decide who will go to the World Championships. Now the FIS is waiting for a break because it is waiting for clearer decisions from the IOC,” Panjinski told .

Since March 1, 2022, Russian skiers no longer participate in international tournaments; sanctions were imposed by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).