Biathlete Daria Virolainen spoke about the reasons for her move to Finland and also said that she was well received in the new team.
Earlier it became known that the International Biathlon Union (IBU) has authorized Virolainen to represent Finland in international competitions in the 2023/24 season. Previously, the athlete played for the Russian national team and, as a member of the team, won gold at the 2017 European Championship in mixed doubles singles.
“I’m not inclined to follow what they write about me on social media or elsewhere. I believe in being aware of events before commenting on them. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I have lived in Finland for a long time. I didn’t move here yesterday and I didn’t immediately receive citizenship.
My husband’s parents lived in Finland for a long time. I was in the national team at that time [России] and traveled constantly. Our firstborn, who was already going to school, was often accompanied by a nanny. We decided to move to Finland so that our grandparents could help us take care of the child. Me and mom [Анфисой Резцовой] very close, it was difficult for him to understand why we wanted to move to another country. We even argued about it a bit, but quickly came to an agreement.
Probably, every athlete has goals that have not been achieved. I feel like I can still improve. The national team gave me a warm welcome. I don’t speak Finnish very well, but I have already managed to communicate with athletes. I have good relations with the head coach and the president of the federation.
Of course it’s great to have help all the time [в сборной России], but sometimes there seems to be too much help. You didn’t have time to think for yourself. But I am grateful. Without the Russian national team and the lessons I learned there, I would not be where I am today. I try to live one day at a time. I don’t want to set big goals, but I want to get closer to the level at which I left off my career,” YLE quoted Virolainen as saying.
Virolainen is the eldest daughter of three-time Olympic champion Anfisa Reztsova.
Source : MatchTV
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