“Russian sport as a whole has taken a step forward. We can talk about it by watching the Paris Olympics” – figure skater Varlamov

Figure skater Fyodor Varlamov who performs ice dancing with Varvara Kurnosenko, said in an interview with that it does not matter who and what is said in the West about Russian sport, which, despite all the difficulties, is developing and does not stand still.

In February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that sports federations not allow Russians and Belarusians to participate in international tournaments. Later, the recommendations were softened, and in December 2023, IOC chief Thomas Bach said that the organization would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes who had passed the selection process to the 2024 Summer Games in an individual neutral status. 15 Russian athletes competed at the Paris Olympics.

— You played for the Kazakhstan national team. After Russian figure skaters were suspended from international tournaments, did you regret returning under the Russian flag?

– No, we are absolute patriots. Moving to another federation implies a change of citizenship. Even in the CIS countries, the transition is difficult: you have to give up your Russian passport, not to mention the “black” regimes.

You were born in Russia, you live here. It doesn’t matter who says what in the West about our sport. Anyway, it will end one day. We have no worries. The Federation gives us the opportunity to participate in tournaments, we have the highest competition, you will not find anything like it in the world.

Of course, it is regrettable that someone’s opinion dominates; sports, to some extent, should be outside of politics. But we, as athletes, will withstand this blow. The main thing is that we do not stand still. All Russian sport has taken a step forward, we can talk about it by watching the Paris Olympics,” Varlamov told .

In the 2019/20 season, Varlamov performed under the flag of Kazakhstan in a duet with Anna Schneider. As Varlamov explained in an interview with , this was initially a temporary option to avoid a career break. Since 2021, Fedor has been performing with Varvara Kurnosenko. Last year, the athletes moved from juniors to adults and took 14th place at the Russian Championship. This offseason, the duo completed their collaboration with Alexander Zhulin and joined Angelika Krylova’s group.

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