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President of the Russian Ski Racing Federation Elena Vyalbe was one of the first in the country to say that the performance would be neutral status is a betrayal. In an interview, the three-time Olympic champion told how the International Olympic Committee, with its strict admission conditions, helped Russian athletes, why Alexander Bolshunov is not bored without competition, when it is safe for skiers to go on maternity leave, and why she could not join the group of the 90s.
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“Perhaps this is Yulia Stupak's last season”
– At the beginning of the season, there were fears that the stages of the Russian Cup would be left without the leaders of the team – Alexander Bolshunov and Natalya Terentyeva. Is it possible now, after half the season has passed, to take some brief conclusions?
– Men have very high competition. Women have small problems; leaders do not speak out for a number of objective reasons; Veronika Stepanova is the only one at the head. But the rest are also fighting; there is not always an understanding of who will be second and third. And Veronica did not win all the stages.
– If you watch the men's races, there is complete dominance of Bolshunov. Isn't he bored?
– Sasha doesn’t have the character to be bored. This person goes to any competition with the desire to win. This is very important for an athlete of any level. Once you get the hang of it, once you win, you never get bored. If he wins all the stages in the year, this will also be a certain record. At least someone should approach this.
– In the summer he received a serious injury. Were you worried that he wouldn’t compete this season?
– I didn’t think so, because we have a very good medical staff, doctors immediately worked with him, and are still working with him. A back problem is a problem for any skier in general, it is our professional disease, so you always need to be on top of your head so that such moments do not occur. He knows the reason, I think he learned his lesson. It’s a pity that we only learn from our mistakes.
– Are there any worries about the Olympic champion Yulia Stupak, which she already has? there will be no good results?
– I think that Yulia will not show good results, because for two years she psychologically cannot cope with the fact that she must compete within the country. Perhaps this is even the last season, I still don’t see fire in her eyes, although I think that this is a big mistake.
-Have you talked to her about this? Did you support her?
– Of course, but I can’t support her all the time. I think that this is now stupidity on her part. We have good competition, a good team. Now run and do what you love before you find yourself in something else.
– In terms of physical fitness, do you believe that she has potential?
– Yes, absolutely. She has not yet revealed her talent even by 60%. She is a very strong athlete, she has very great prospects, but no one can show the result without difficulty.
“If the Terentyevs report pregnancy, I will I will bless”
– Natalya Terentyeva (Nepryaeva) has not been participating in races since the beginning of the season. Are you worried about her? Keep in touch with her?
– Definitely, I worry about all athletes. For some reason, everyone thinks that I only worry about the national team. I communicate with everyone and maintain relationships. And with those who leave the national team, whose children are already running. How not to worry? Before leaving for Kazan, I visited them with Sasha. Yes, unfortunately, we got sick. First Sasha got sick, then Natasha. I took a risk, although they had already passed this point when they had a fever and so on. Both cough like dogs (laughs).
– Is there any hope of seeing her at the start of this season?
– I really hope so.
– There is a feeling that she is simply unlucky this season. First one thing, then another.
– As a woman, one of her main events was held – they had a wonderful wedding. Then some sporting failures and illnesses came to her, but all this was temporary. We need to be patient and we will see Natasha in all her glory. We will see a new leader with a new name. Knowing Natasha, knowing her character, everything will be fine.
– She has become a family person, do you think she might go on maternity leave in the near future?
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– It is my deep conviction that a woman’s main purpose is to be a mother. Believe me, no medals will ever replace children. Therefore, if they suddenly announce that they are ready to go on maternity leave, I will welcome and bless it. I will wait for this wonderful moment. Because pregnancy is not a disease, it is a state of mind, after which people return to sports and show excellent results. We have a lot of mothers competing now.
– Moreover, there are no international competitions. Good time?
– Yes, very successful. I always told the girls: “Girls, we give birth painlessly two years after the Olympic Games, because at that time we do not have the World Championships and after that we have the opportunity to train for a year to get to the Olympics.” Now they have the time and opportunity to go through all this painlessly. Dissertations have been written on these topics; I am now studying at the Volga Region University of Sports in Kazan, and the topic of my thesis will be about the return of athletes after pregnancy. For cyclic sports, it seems to me that, on the contrary, this is good – new blood, a renewed body. The first two or three months the athletes are in very good condition, this is a natural doping, let’s say so.
“I could have found out earlier than the parents that the athlete was expecting a child”
– When I talked with Natalya Terentyeva in Khanty-Mansiysk, she said that she treats you like a second mother. How did you manage to build such relationships in the national team?
– I don’t know, I’m like a second mother or just a person you can trust with some secrets, with whom you can talk about different topics. If one of the athletes tells me that some information is only for me, this will always remain only with me. I think this is the most important thing – trust. Everyone thinks that I’m very angry and just yell all the time, in fact, this happens to athletes not only extremely rarely – I don’t know what has to happen for me to yell. I probably really screamed only once in my life, and that was Alena Baranova. I then worried that it was so strong and cruel. Unfortunately, when a person does not understand normal words at all, you, of course, go into some kind of nervous breakdown. I hope our relationship with Alena has not gotten worse, she understood everything, and now we communicate. I rarely yell.
I want people on our team to be honest with me. Of course, I require discipline, that's normal. I demand this from the coaches, and from the lubricants, and from the medical staff. There are different moments, but I’m not as evil as everyone thinks.
– They told me that you can invite the guys over for dinner and cook something delicious.
– No, I have never been asked for advice of this kind. There was a moment when I could have found out earlier than my parents that the athlete was expecting a child. This is such a sign of trust for me. I love our athletes very much and enjoy my work.
“Thank you to the IOC for leaving no choice to the athletes”
– You are you watching the Tour de Ski and the World Cup?
– I don’t follow anything.
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– Can we say that they lost interest without competition?
– Honestly, I don’t give a damn what’s going on there, whether they’re running or not, whether they’re alive and well. I don’t want to know, because towards us they act like cowards and traitors.
– Are you in dialogue with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS)?
– FIS is on hand for us to come back, because they are losing the interest of the audience. The world doesn't watch ski racing like that anymore, they're losing sponsors because of it. They are not independent people, so they cannot do anything. I don't even want to think about any predictions. Let our athletes enjoy their country, we have new centers opening and everything is fine.
– You are on the list of Vladimir Putin’s trusted representatives in the upcoming elections. How important is this for you?
– I would like to answer briefly. This is a very great honor for me, because I respect him very much, I was previously on his campaign headquarters, also a confidant. This is a great responsibility.
– Do you agree with Vladimir Vladimirovich’s opinion that the athlete himself must choose whether to go to competitions or not?
< br>– I certainly agree with this opinion; each athlete must decide for himself. But I think that the task of federation leaders and head coaches is to help athletes not make irreparable mistakes. It seems to me that the International Olympic Committee, with its “invitation” to the Olympics, created very good conditions for us. He made sure no one could go to the Olympics, that's all. Therefore, many thanks to them for this. Our athletes will not be tormented and tormented by guessing whether to go or not, to become a traitor to the country or not. For me, in this situation, it would be a betrayal for an athlete to travel to the Olympics in a neutral status.
– There are more Russian skiers than Norwegians in the international registered testing pool. How do you feel about this?
– I don’t relate to this at all. Let them test it, they tested it before too. And in general, this is already a one-sided game, because we know that WADA is also not an independent body. We are ready, let them test, we are not against it.
– The trial of the former President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Anders Besseberg is currently underway. Keep an eye on this?
– I don’t even know. I thought it was all over for him. Poor Besseberg. I have never seen this person live at all, I have very little interest in the life of the IBU, so I am not in the subject at all.
– Earlier, USA Today reported that Russian fencer Sergei Bida, as well as Russian saber fencer Konstantin Lokhanov, intend to compete for the US team at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Is this their personal business or are they undermining our sport?
– First of all, I don’t like traitors at all. They are not needed anywhere, and no one loves them. This won't last long. Even if something is done for them, it will not mean that they will become Americans. The main sponsor for any athlete is the state. It's a shame to run away, they're just fools.
Of course, I understand any athlete how difficult it is for them in this whole situation. But you need to accept any situation with honor and dignity. We must understand that this is where we live and will continue to live. We must look millions of people in the eye and be an example not only on the track, but also in our actions. We must be patriots.
“We really fought, but to learn how to defend ourselves”
– Have you watched the series “The Boy's Word” ? Were the same rules in Magadan?
– At that time I was skiing, I didn’t see or hear anything. Maybe there was something, but I don’t agree that it had to be presented in that form. I watched Nikita Mikhalkov’s program, where he defends the director and says that this needs to be shown. Yes, this needs to be shown, but in a softer form. Nowadays there is enough cruelty, especially among young people. On the Internet we see how they beat each other and mock each other, why show this even more? Yes, this is a story, but this story could have been shown much softer and with even more understanding.
– You said that you even fought with your friend as a child.
– No, it was different. We didn't fight out of anger or anything like that. We felt like we were learning to protect ourselves, when in fact we have a very peaceful city. We didn’t have any gangs or shootings in the 90s. Yes, there were probably some clans, but they didn’t kill anyone, I know that for sure. For my friend and I, it all started with a simple conversation – what would happen if they attacked. We came to the yard after school, put our briefcases on a stump and began. We really fought, but in order to learn to defend ourselves, but I don’t know from whom, no one even pestered us. The boys could untie the bow on their pigtail at most. It seems to me that these fights were funny, it even showed your character somehow.
– Would you have been able to join the group if you were in Kazan then?
– It seems to me, no, I’m not a bandit. I want to feed, drink, take care more.
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