“If a person is devoted to the country, he does not think differently” – Bogaliy spoke about the change of citizenship of Russian athletes

Double Olympic champion in biathlon Anna Bogaliy said athletes have the right to choose their own citizenship for performance at the highest level, but added that true patriots “don’t think any differently.”

Earlier on Monday, Leonid Myakishev, ex-coach of former Russian national team biathlete Daria Virolainen, told that the athlete could start playing for Finland in the new season. Virolainen finished second in the 15km individual race at the Finnish Summer Biathlon Championships on Sunday.

Everyone has their own life and their own career. Any athlete has the right to choose for himself what is more convenient and comfortable for him. Therefore, I would not give critical assessments and urge everyone to stay in Russia. But if a person is devoted to the country, he does not think differently. And now there is an opportunity to prove himself in national tournaments. In biathlon, all the strongest stay at home and compete with the Belarusian national team. Before that, no one came to the stages of the Russian Cup, but now the strongest race there. There will be both the first team and the nearest reserve. The country championship will also be extremely interesting. In such a competition, it is worth showing your skills,” RT Bogaliy quotes.

At the end of February, the IOC recommended that international sports federations prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in competitions due to the situation in Ukraine. In September, the organization confirmed that the recommendations remained in place.

Many international federations withdrew Russians and Belarusians from competitions under their auspices, and also canceled tournaments in Russia, some federations allowed athletes into a neutral status.

RT