Svetlana Sleptsova was one of the brightest biathletes at the World Cup. Over the years of her career, she managed to become an Olympic champion and world champion. The athlete fell in love with a huge number of fans, although she ended her performances at the professional level quite early. In an interview with Sport, Sleptsova spoke about life after sports, controversial moments in her career, history with doping and the Russians' trip to the Olympics in a neutral status.
— Svetlana, judging by social networks, you are now enjoying life after finishing your career.
— This is the most popular question about what I’m doing now (laughs). It turns out that this is true. I enjoy life. I can't say that I travel that much. There aren’t many opportunities at the moment to fly somewhere, but I’m trying to get out somewhere. I mainly take care of myself and my son.
— Are you happy in Khanty-Mansiysk and do not plan to leave your hometown?
— I wanted to move to Moscow, but first there was a pandemic, then the SVO began. At any moment I could pack my things and fly to the capital, there are no problems, but I don’t see such a need now. Khanty-Mansiysk is a city for children. To get to some section, it literally takes 10 minutes. I understand that in Moscow this will take two to three hours a day. What is all this for? And we go to different sections a lot. Everything is close here, everything is fine. If you want to swim, you want to ski. At the moment everything suits me, I feel good here. If I suddenly want to move, then I just get on a plane and fly away (smiles).
— So simple?
— Yes, of course.
— If you move to Moscow, then somewhere in particular?
— I have housing there, at one time I earned money for it.
— What sports does your son do?
— First of all, he goes to kindergarten, in addition to this there is also swimming, chess and at the same time he is preparing for school.
— Have you interested him in skiing yet?
— He skis, but doesn’t want to start regular skiing. He is more interested in swimming and playing football. No matter how much I offered him cross-country skiing, he didn’t like it at all. Maybe the time will come and he will change his mind, but I don’t force him. Even if you start studying at the age of 13-15, I can’t say that it’s too late. I started doing biathlon at the age of nine. Everything is different. There is no such thing here that there is a certain moment when this must be done.
— Some biathletes, after completing their careers, then decided to return to professional sports. Have you ever had such a desire?
— As soon as I found out that I was having a child, it was just the last week of the summer world championship in Tchaikovsky. There I sighed with such relief that it was finally over. In any case, I knew that this would be the last season. I had a goal to get to the Olympics in 2018, but the universe decided that I should end up at the World Championships then. My good friend Masha Baidina said that the universe loves me very much. I wouldn’t have been allowed to go to the Olympics anyway, so it would all have been in vain. This is a good end to a sports career. I calmly left and don’t regret it for a second. I had ridden so much that it was not so much physically, but mentally difficult.
— Would you change anything in your career if you could rewind time?
— There were many controversial moments (smiles). For example, when Pichler came to us. But if he hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have sunk to the bottom where they no longer knock. And I wouldn’t have worked with Valery Medvedtsev, who pulled me out of there. It’s clear that I didn’t have super cool results later, but I still returned to the championship and the World Cup. Everything happened as it should have. I spent three wonderful years with Pichler (laughs).
— Wonderful in quotes?
— No, actually. It is clear that she was angry and hated at some moments. Perhaps she said some bad things about him. But then, as time passed, I realized that it was simply not my coach. And we had a wonderful three years with him also because we practically didn’t leave Europe all this time (laughs). He showed us many new places. Overall, in the end, I’m glad I didn’t go to Sochi. At first I was disappointed, but now, after everything that happened, I understand that I didn’t really want to be there. I was there as a guest and a fan.
— We touched on an unpleasant topic with the Games in Sochi and the consequences. Have you noticed how the IBU's attitude towards us has changed?
— Perhaps this is due to the change of the president of the organization. Besseberg seemed to treat us well. It really felt like we had a real biathlon family. There were no conflicts. I don’t remember exactly what year the head of the IBU changed; I was no longer in the ranks then. I think that after Sochi they began to reveal some aspects, they began to accuse us of all sins. And not only skiers and biathletes, but all sports in general were affected. Probably, the IBU leadership and some athletes really changed their attitude towards us, but I know for sure that many of the active biathletes want the Russians and Belarusians to return to the international level as soon as possible.
— You do you personally know?
— Of course, I even personally know who it is.
— But without last names?
— No surnames (smiles). Now the situation is such that it is better not to say their names out loud. We are talking about athletes from leading biathlon countries.
— How did you react to the doping story that began after Sochi and ultimately affected you, too?
— We are still suing and for six years we have not received essentially any answer. What they accused me of is absolutely ridiculous. Some samples have disappeared, but that has nothing to do with me. Moreover, the samples from 2013 disappeared. Guys, I was 96th, 93rd, 87th at the World Cup then. What doping, what are you even talking about? There is no evidence, all my samples A and B are absolutely pure. When they asked to open them, I said let’s open them. I was 100 percent confident in my purity. We were accused in 2018, all terms of disqualification have already passed, and we are still suing. They put everything off.
— So, now it’s all at the same stage as it was in 2018?
— Exactly so. We had many hearings, I flew to Munich, we held conversations from Moscow when it was not possible to go there. Mikhail Prokhorov still helps us, who pays for the services of all lawyers. He doesn't abandon us, but there is still no solution.
— Is there really no feedback at all?
— I personally don’t receive any letters. Lawyers are working on this, but in general we can’t wait for anything clear from the other side. Even in the situation when the SBO is taking place, they have more cards in their hands.
— Russian biathletes now compete exclusively within the country or in Belarus. How realistic is it to maintain an acceptable level of competition in order to return to the World Cup with dignity?
— It will be hard. It’s stupid to think that we will return to the World Cup and beat everyone. When you're not around the world leaders and competing against them every week, it's very difficult to maintain that speed. I think it will take a season, or even two, to fully compete. There will probably be some races when you can finish in the top 10 or even the top 6. We have athletes capable of this. But in general there will be a drawdown in the results.
— The hottest topic now concerns the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympics in a neutral status. What is your opinion on this matter?
— My position has changed. I thought it was possible without the flag and the anthem, but, on the other hand, they already traveled like this. But now the situation is different, NWO. As a result, I came to the conclusion that the federations should decide. The party said to go, so we have to go. I can’t imagine what the athletes themselves are going through; they are in an extremely difficult situation. You have qualified for the Olympics, but you don’t know whether to go there or not. You still have to come to the Games and somehow compete in such an atmosphere. When they look at you as an enemy of the people. You cannot come to the opening ceremony, nor to the closing ceremony. I probably still have to go to the toilet according to the schedule. Like in some kind of concentration camp.
This is not a holiday or the Olympic Games, but some kind of test. Anyone who is ready for this should go. It seems to me that in the end none of our people will go to Paris. Perhaps only tennis players, they are doing well. Moreover, I will say that if someone still decides to go, they will be turned away at the border and simply will not be allowed in. They will cite problems with documents, for example. They will do everything to prevent Russians from participating in the Games.
— Our two-time Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling Abdulrashid Sadulayev in this way they were not allowed into the European Championships, having been turned away at the border.
— Absolutely the same will happen at the Olympics in Paris, one hundred percent.
— At the end of the conversation I would like something more positive, some kind of fun and interesting story. For example, like the one when the Norwegians Tarjei Boe and Emil-Hegle Svendsen stole your car as a joke.
— Yes, I have already told about that story more than once (smiles). In general, that year there were two funny incidents. First, we flew to the World Cup from Oslo to Khanty-Mansiysk, and my luggage did not arrive. All my things were there. No day, no two. They were looking for my bag for two months. I ended up going around and collecting hats and gloves from everyone. Moreover, I was even thinner then, everything was at least a size larger for me. So when I ran, everything was dangling from me. Three and a half months later, my bag was found in Malta instead of Khanty-Mansiysk. At that time I still thought that maybe I was doing the wrong thing in life (laughs). Well, it was always fun with the Norwegians, besides that wonderful story with the hijacking. They were always joking. I am still amazed that Tarjei Be still runs and how she runs. He has a second youth, I am surprised and admired by him.
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