Coach of the Russian national cross-country team Yuri Borodavko said in an interview with that if national athletes were not admitted to the World Championships, alternative competitions in the country would be held in the same period with the same conditions and the same prizes.
In early July, the International Ski Federation (FIS) extended the suspension of Russians from tournaments under its auspices until the end of the summer season, a decision regarding the winter season has not yet been made. The FIS Council meeting is scheduled for early October.
“Of course we have everything planned to be ready to come back anytime,” Borodavko told . – Naturally, we are all waiting for the decision of the FIS in October. All spectators and athletes want Russians to perform at the World Cup and create good competition. If this does not happen, we will resort to plan B – to follow the Russian national calendar and also organize alternative competitions during the World Cup. The conditions will be the same, the government has promised that the prize money will correspond to the payments for the World Cup. This is the motivation of skiers. Come on, you’ll have everything you wanted.
– Do you think that the words of athletes like Johannes Klebo, who say that the competition suffers without the Russians, can affect the FIS?
– I don’t think it will affect one way or another, since the FIS is a public body and takes its decisions by majority. Knowing the folks on the FIS committee and those who ended up working there, and why it happened, the optimism grows less and less with each new piece of news.
The World Ski Championships will take place from February 21 to March 5, 2023 in Planica, Slovenia.
Read the full version of the interview soon on the website.
Source : MatchTV
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