MOSCOW, November 4, Svetlana Bonopartova. Two-time Olympic champion in Biathlon Svetlana Ishmuratova said that she had no hope that Russian athletes would be allowed to participate in international competitions.
At the end of February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), due to the situation in Ukraine, recommended that international sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in competitions as protective measures. In March 2023, the IOC issued a recommendation to allow Russians who did not support the SVO to participate in a neutral status. At the same time, the organization proposed to deny athletes associated with the armed forces and security agencies, as well as national teams, in team disciplines.
«»There was no longer any hope for admission, we don't expect anything good from them. All we have to do is accept it all and work in our own direction. I think as soon as the SVO ends, cardinal decisions will be made, and our guys will compete at international competitions and win prizes,” Ishmuratova said.
«Whether the level of the (Russian) national team will drop under the conditions of suspension or not will depend on the level of motivation of our guys. But the country's leadership is making every effort so that the guys don't lose it, so that they have conditions no worse than at international competitions «. I believe that sport in our country is carried out at the highest level. Everything is developing, everything is being built. As soon as the Iron Curtain is lifted, as soon as we are given the command to start, our guys will come out and perform in the most worthy manner,» added the former biathlete.
