Gymnast representing Latvia Elisabeth Polstyanaya on the air of the program “There is a theme!” on the channel, she told how the Latvian federation set the condition for the athlete to train in Latvia, as well as a ban on traveling to Russia.
Earlier, the athlete said that she was not allowed to perform at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Bulgaria. Polstyanaya was born in Latvia but raised in Russia. She obtained Latvian citizenship in 2018 and has since represented the country in international competitions.
– In February I was in Russia because I trained here with our coach. In March I received a call from the federation and was told that as a member of the Olympic team I was obliged to return to Latvia and train there. In fact, I was given the condition that I could no longer train and play in Russia. A week after this call, I was already in Latvia. As a result, I had to change coaches, because my coach could not accompany me, I complied with all the conditions laid before me. I went there, I started training there, preparing for the World Cup. Everything was fine, I did not feel any aggression, at that time the relationship did not change, except that I was training there with another coach, and my family was here in Russia. My mother came to me, but it was hard.
After the European Championship in July, I went back to Moscow because I had a break. But at first they also told me that it’s not allowed, but how can I not see my family for such a long time? And it seems to me that I can decide where I can relax, after all, Russia is my homeland. As a result, they allowed me, but they said that I had no right to exhibit anything, no one should know that I was in Russia at that time. At the end of July, I returned to Latvia, when it was already necessary to start getting in shape, training and preparing for the upcoming world championships and competitions. After a week of training, they sent me a letter saying that I had to choose citizenship, and until I made a choice, they suspended my activities as an athlete. Since I don’t know the Latvian language very well, I turned to the federation for help, so that I could have this letter translated and say what it generally means. All my questions were answered very categorically that I couldn’t compete anywhere until a decision was made – not at the World Cup in Romania, not just international competitions in San Marino, anywhere. I accepted this and left for Russia the next day, because it was very painful for me and I didn’t want to be left alone in this situation. I returned to Russia, no one stopped me. I said that to the federation, to whom they said to me: “Okay, go ahead.” And that’s it,” Poltyanaya said.
Earlier it was reported that Latvian athletes who also have citizenship of the Russian Federation or Belarus do not have the right to receive state financial assistance, but are not deprived of the right to compete for Latvia in international competitions.
Source : MatchTV
