Latvia temporarily stopped paying state funding to cyclists and tennis players who participate in such competitions. What are your thoughts on this?
I think we should stay united. There will always be holes in the system, there will always be someone who says that athletes’ lives are very short and they need to compete, and that sports are outside of politics. However, sport has never been outside of politics! Let’s remember the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow and the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Sport is in politics and we need to understand that. We must understand that many Russian athletes receive their salaries from the army or, for example, from the same Dynamo club, or from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They support the war, and of course our athletes are not allowed to compete with them. That’s my opinion.
Athletes not only from Ukraine, but also from Latvia and other countries?
Athletes from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and other countries. We all remember history! We know what happened in 1939, 1940, when both Latvia and Western Ukraine were occupied. Russia has always had an aggressive policy and we have to stop them.
Can the international community somehow influence Bach’s thoughts?
I believe it can. Imagine if every national federation said we would not participate…
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