Even before the two representations of the international federation, the FIS ruled out, the Norwegians themselves, to whom the SP races belong on their territory, decided to ban the start of the countries associated with the invasion. And with the knowledge that these events may lose World Cup status. However, after increasing pressure, the FIS itself decided to ban it.
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However, Bolshunov believes that the expulsion of the Russians is primarily the work of Norway.
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“We are angry, very angry. The Norwegians fired us. It’s very offensive. We are their biggest rivals and we don’t like that we are treated this way. But now we are back in Russia, where we have a lot of fans and a lot of support, “said the Russian star on TikTok.
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The truth is that the influential people of Norwegian skiing have been radically opposed to the start of the Russians since the beginning of the conflict. FIS member Vegard Ulvang and the chairman of the Norwegian association Erik Röste, for example, have stated this publicly.
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The overall winner of the SP, Johannes Hösflot Klaebo, also spoke in favor of excluding the Russians. “I think Klaebo was pushed into his statement. I hope we will fight again. That the situation in the world will calm down and everything will be fine, “said Bolshunov.
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At the same time, he denied that the ban on starting would somehow deter his motivation. “On the contrary,” he stressed.
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In the spirit of other Russian athletes, of course, Bolshunov spoke vaguely “of the situation in the world,” not of his country’s aggression against a weaker neighbor, on whose territory civilians are dying and war crimes are most likely to take place.
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In this context, the Nordic press recalled that Bolshunov was a member of the Russian army and had recently been promoted to captain by President Vladimir Putin himself.
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The Russian skier also managed to outrage the world with a photo on Instagram, where he was dressed in a Soviet overalls with the CCCP 1980 inscription. it was an extremely controversial step.
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“It simply came to our notice then. We all need to distance ourselves from what is happening in Ukraine now and against the Ukrainian people, “Röste told the Norwegian media. The Russian sponsor Rossignol eventually forced the racer to delete the photo.
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