MOSCOW, July 20, Oleg Bogatov. Three-time Olympic champion in Figure skating Irina Rodnina said that in the absence of the majority of leading Russian athletes not admitted to the Olympics, interest in competitions is sharply decreasing.
The Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russians to participate in the Games subject to a number of strict criteria. In Paris they will be able to perform in a neutral status, but their compliance with the necessary criteria was assessed by a special IOC commission (AINERP), consisting of three people. The IOC allowed only 15 Russians, representing five sports, to participate in the Games.
“I’m not interested in many summer sports. But since most of our athletes are not there, then interest in the Olympic Games drops even more,” Rodnina said.
“I can’t make such assessments (about the decline in competition), because if I’m not interested in this sport, then I don’t follow it. Considering that in recent years our guys have not taken part in major sports competitions, we don’t We know their rating and the level of their opposition. Therefore, it is almost impossible to make any comparisons or conclusions,” the agency’s interlocutor noted.
The Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation also commented on the refusal of federal television channels to broadcast the Games competitions in Russia. “Probably, our television companies made relevant requests and there is also a question of price. If there are practically no athletes at the Olympics, then we must somehow financially combine the solution of many issues. And to show them just like that, because someone I want it, it’s wrong. If someone wants it, then they can go on the Internet and watch everything with pleasure,” Rodnina believes.
Chairman of the Sports Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Dmitry Svishchev, in a conversation with the agency, said that he does not plan to watch the competitions in Paris. “I will not watch the Olympic Games, I will only follow our guys, how they perform,” the expert said.