Russian athletes are welcome back at the Olympics, but the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has not yet followed suit. Russian cross-country skiing star Aleksandr Bolshunov believes that the Scandinavian countries, especially Norway, want to maintain their position at the top of the world.
They will fight to the end to keep Russians away, he tells Russian Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Bolshunov believes that Norway's success in recent years is due to Russia's inability to participate.
Let us in and keep Norway out for five years, and we'll see what happens.
In early July, it was announced that Russian athletes would be allowed to participate in the Olympics, regardless of their political affiliation, a decision that has been met with criticism from several quarters. Bolshunov does not mention Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which is the reason for the Russian athletes being banned, and he has no high hopes for an announcement from FIS in the near future.
"FIS doesn't care one bit about what the IOC says. It's pretty stupid, because those are relevant recommendations," he says.
I'm not going to blame anyone, but we understand that some Scandinavian countries are resisting.
What do you think?