Belarusian biathlete Anton Smolsky after participating in the mass start of the PARI Russian Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk, in a conversation with , he said that he was ready to defend the honor of his country even with the banning of the flag and the anthem.
On March 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced recommendations on the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions in a neutral status. Recommendations include individual clearance, status neutrality, banning team sports, and banning athletes associated with security forces or who have expressed support for the CWO. A decision on the Paris 2024 Olympics will be taken “at the appropriate time”, said the IOC.
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– How has Belarus reacted to the IOC admission requirements?
– The Summer Olympics are on the nose, of course, every day the situation will get worse and worse. The Belarusian Olympic Committee is competing against us without an anthem or flag, but President Alexander Lukashenko has said that as a last resort, if we get rid of the national paraphernalia, the state will support us.
– Is it important for you to play with the anthem and the flag?
“Yes, in principle, but if there is no choice, we will always defend the honor of the country,” Smolsky told .
Smolsky became second in the mass start, only losing to Eduard Latypov. Third place in the race was taken by Nikita Porshnev.
On Sunday, the Russian Championship will host a women’s mass start and a men’s relay race, watch the live broadcast of the races on the channel, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.
Source : MatchTV
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