MOSCOW, August 1, Oleg Bogatov. The poor results of Russian athletes who decided to take part in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris do not surprise them; they are convinced of their level of readiness, said two-time Olympic hockey champion Alexander Kozhevnikov.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not allow many of the strongest Russian athletes to participate in the Games in Paris. There are 15 Russians competing in five sports. Cyclists Tamara Dronova and Gleb Syritsa previously took 21st and 31st places in the individual start races. The gap behind the winners was more than four minutes. Swimmer Evgeny Somov finished 13th in the semi-finals and failed to make it to the final in the 100m breaststroke.
«We shouldn't be surprised by the weak results of our athletes at the Olympic Games, because it wasn't the strongest who went to Paris, but those who wanted to compete. They went and now they've looked at their capabilities. I agree with Alexander Tikhonov, who said that we went for shame and got it. They wanted to go to Paris themselves — go ahead, compete. And the IOC can now say whatever they want about us, but we wanted to go with our strongest team. The IOC only did well for itself, because there is no serious competition (in many sports) at the Games,» Kozhevnikov said.
Earlier, four-time Olympic biathlon champion Alexander Tikhonov said that the Russians' performance at the Olympics in a weakened lineup «turned into the expected shame.»
«And those athletes who went to the Olympic Games will be treated normally in Russia upon their return. They are people and citizens of our country, but they got what they wanted in Paris,» the agency's source emphasized.
The Olympic Games are being held from July 26 to August 11.