Swimmer Kolesnikov: “Sport has become not a point of convergence, but a place where people argue, refusing to hear another opinion”

Swimming world record holder Kliment Kolesnikov told that sport had stopped bringing people together.

Kolesnikov missed the 2024 Olympics in Paris; the 24-year-old Russian was not granted neutral status.

— This year you encountered negativity for the first time. Now in the comments they are constantly reminded of your decision to skip the Olympics. Are you reading this?

“I absolutely don’t care what anyone thinks about my decision, because it’s my life.” What is more distressing is that in the current climate, sport is no longer what it used to be. After the 2012 Games, he became more political. But it’s not even that, but the fact that people are divided into two camps.

Sport has no longer become a point of convergence, but a place where people can argue, refusing to hear another opinion. It’s really upsetting. And when they write: “Clément didn’t go, he’s stupid, but this one went, so he did well.” Well, okay, I have no right to judge anyone for their opinion. But it turns out that with their opinion they divide us into two clearings. I thought that in sport there can be different opinions, but there is a kind of common spirit. Now I see disunity,” Kolesnikov said in an interview with .

More sports news in our telegram channel .