Biathlete Pidruchnyi accuses Fourcade

This time they are almost a mockery. The snowflakes that now dance from the sky once again and lie like a white, innocent blanket over the horror of this world. It's war. In the middle of Europe. Has he already arrived outside of Ukraine?

Once the car has been shoveled and the road service has done its job, you finally have the opportunity to go shopping. And the bags and bags are filled. The refrigerators at home are bursting at the seams. Where should all the toilet paper go? Panic buying has become fashionable again. It is an underlying fear that preoccupies people and forces them to think, at least for a few brief moments. Yes, it's war. Of course, in South Tyrol you don't notice much of this and you are probably distracted here because there has been no government for almost two weeks, only intrigue. How happy one would be if there were such meaningless skirmishes in Ukraine, which are primarily fueled by egoists who want to make a political career.

But there is Bucha, a suburb of Kiev, which exposes Russian war crimes. And there are no snowfalls that could mercifully cover the corpses, at least for a moment. The word “horror” now has an image. Yes, that's what war is like and it will leave behind unforgiveness and enmity in every respect for a long time. The long-term effects of Russian aggression, an attack on a country that now has to defend our freedom with the lives of its people, cannot be prevented. “Martin and Simon, go to hell” Before Chernobyl, Dmytro Pidruchnyi, pursuit world champion in biathlon 2019 in Östersund, took position in full combat gear. And this time it's not a small-caliber rifle he's holding in his hands. Like many of his comrades, he must also expect to die in battle. It is completely inconceivable that he will ever compete with French biathletes again. Pidruchnyi is deeply hurt in his soul by an action by Martin Fourcade's brother. Simon caused a scandal at the Junior World Championships in the USA that was not made particularly public. In solidarity with Ukraine, the organization decided to remove all Russian flags. Simon Fourcade then cut up a French flag, arranged the national colors blue, white and red to create a Russian flag and then stuck it to a wax booth used by the Russian service team. “It was,” said France’s junior coach defending this action, “not a political act, but a human one.” He said he rejected sanctions against Russian athletes. Dmytro Pidruchnyi in action as an active biathlete. Now he is at war. © AFP / JOE KLAMAR

I repeat the answer to this from Pydruchnyi on Instagram verbatim: “First. Martin and Simon, go to hell. I hope that your children will never feel the pain that Ukrainian children have experienced. Children who left their homes, who heard the sounds of explosions, who saw their mother raped and their relatives killed." And further: "For me, the silence of the Russian and Belarusian athletes means that they have decided to support war. I do not regret at all that they will not be present at any international competition, because I believe that the entire people of Russia and Belarus are responsible for those who elected them and forgave the crimes." And the 30-year-old stated that one cannot say that sport is outside of politics. “If many athletes with the “Z” on their clothes were at a concert in support of the war in Moscow? Are they so innocent and suffering because of the government?”

The gap is deep and will continue to concern generations of athletes, like all the wars in the world that still have an impact. No matter where we are at the moment: there are examples everywhere that make it clear that it will not be possible so quickly to let grass grow over the crimes committed against a people. Or to wait until a white, fluffy blanket of snow makes us believe for a moment in a peace that doesn't exist. I myself have been attacked twice in the past by Russian officials and even colleagues for telling the truth twice. Also about doping cases in Russia. My comments were checked twice by lawyers, and twice it turned out that I had only stated clear facts. I was physically harassed twice. These memories are now coming to the surface again, even if they were basically little things that you can endure and sometimes have to endure in our industry. However, one cannot stand the crimes in Bucha, the murderous rampage of Russian soldiers against innocent people. I can no longer imagine that in the next few years athletes from the warring nations will be doing biathlon with a rifle on their back in front of the public. Every shot at the targets would be a shot against humanity.

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Biathlete Pidruchnyi accuses Fourcade

After a pro-Russian action by Simon Fourcade at the Junior Biathlon World Championships in the USA, the Ukrainian world champion Dmytro Pidruchnyi is now speaking out and attacking his former opponent in sharp and clear words.

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