A number of fans with Russian flags had made their way to the top of Alpe Cermis to welcome Savelij Korosteljov after Sunday's final stage of the cross-country skiing Tour de Ski.
"It's been a long time since we saw that," says Swedish national team member Edvin Anger.
"It's special. I don't know what to say. It's special when there's a war and all of a sudden they're here."
"I was about to die"
Earlier this winter, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the International Ski and Snowboard Federation's (FIS) decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes.
The 22-year-old Russian Savelij Korosteljov made his season debut at the World Cup in Davos in mid-December. He had no notable results until the final stage of the tour in Val di Fiemme, where Korosteljov finished fourth.
"I was dying at the end. So I'm very happy to finish fourth," says Korosteljov.
As a Russian skater, he competes with neutral status and must not have shown any support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. He is also not allowed to compete in Russian colours or under the Russian flag.
"I was surprised," says Savelij Korosteljov about the Russian flags at the finish line.
"That made me happy."
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Fourth place was Korosteljov's first notable result since entering the World Cup. Neither he nor Darya Neprjaeva – the only Russian in the women's field – has made any strong impression on the other skiers.
"I still think it has been quite anonymous," says Edvin Anger, and continues:
"You haven't noticed them that much. They haven't been skiing particularly well. He (Korosteljov) skied a bit better at the end and he's good at classic, so he skied well today."
Overall, Korosteljov was 28th in the tour, 2.28 minutes behind the winner Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. Klæbo answers diplomatically when asked what it's like to see Russian flags again at the World Cup.
"No, I haven't thought about it. And it's nothing he (Korosteljov) can do about it either. So you can't blame him for that," says Klæbo.
