Now a six-time world swimming champion, three-time Olympic swimming medalist Yulia Efimova received neutral status, which gives the right to participate in the Olympic Games.
—Have you finally achieved neutral status?
– Yes, they gave it to me today. But the big problem is that I am not at the level of the international selection. They all end on June 23 – either they passed or they will next week. My plans were to compete for the club in a tournament in Italy. But they ultimately refused me access.
I also found out that Anya Egorova would perform in France, but it was already too late – the application was also closed there.
– And the visa?
– This is an other story. I was ready to leave for Nizhny Novgorod, they found the opportunity to do Schengen there. Only one window appeared. But the Italians sent me a refusal and I did not go to submit documents.
Most importantly, the International Federation (World Aquatics) quickly reviewed my application and supported me to participate in the Olympic Games. But there is no visa to Europe or entry at the start of the international qualifiers, and all of them end.
Apparently we should have gone to Asia, it’s easy to get a visa there and they treat us well. But now, the competition is already over.
— In other words, we need an international departure.
— Yes, exactly until June 23. World Aquatics has a list of competitions one can qualify for. These are their rules. And now all the deadlines are expiring before my eyes, and I don’t know what to do.
— You need a strong manager who will resolve the issue of a visa to Europe and agree on admission to Italian departure.
— I don’t have such a manager. I resolved this problem myself with my father-coach. If anyone helps me, I will be happy. Yes, I need help, of course. But now, every day counts.
I understand that it is also my fault. We started doing all this too late. And I’ve only just started to recover from the illness. I’m still under load. I think I will qualify for the Olympics. A hundred, of course. In theory, I could have a great time in Paris. But it seems we will never know. I’ve had a crazy month. We have looked at all the options and have already set our sights on a visa. And I would have gone there calmly, but the Italians refused at the last moment. It broke everything.
— Because of a commercial start in Rome, everything collapsed. Amazing!
— The International Federation is generally on my side: “We will do everything quickly for you now. » If I understand correctly, the president himself is interested. But the Italians sharply refused me: “It’s too late to submit an application, and we don’t care who you play for.
— We need to register you as a journalist on the television team, and you will still have access to the Paris Olympic Games.
– That would be cool. The idea is good. But I prefer to go there as an athlete. I blame myself for first having to immediately adopt this neutral status. In addition, the International Federation gave me a letter according to which I could compete in selection without status, only with the club. But each country has its own rules for each competition. And when I realized it, it was already too late.
— Are you upset about not participating in the Olympics?
“At first, it took me a while to understand. Somehow I took it calmly. But then I was just knocked out for three days, I couldn’t even swim or go to the gym. You can’t fool your brain. Why all this then? But then I pulled myself together.
—And what to do now with the neutral status?
– Yes, let it go for now. Now I am going to the championship in Moscow (June 18-21), where I will compete next week. I swim under load throughout breaststroke, medley and relay races. From there, I planned to take a flight to Italy, but my plan was rejected.
– Someone has to get along with them. Do we have our own staff in Italy?
– I do not have. And I don’t think they will make concessions. And I really should have started there! The refusal came two weeks ago. I continue to train quietly. Then I will go to Yekaterinburg for the Russian Cup. Then there will be departures to Kaliningrad. Well, then, maybe I will fly to the stages of the World Cup, and then the neutral status will come in handy.
— Is it really possible that no influential person gets involved in gaining access to the Olympic Games?
– I don’t know. I just don’t know,” Efimova said in an interview with .
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Source : MatchTV
I’m John White and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. My specialty is covering sports news, which I’ve been doing for over 6 years now. During this time, I have worked as an author with Athletistic, a popular online news website focusing on sports topics.
