“It's sick”: That's what it's like for Russia's winter sports

While Ukrainian biathletes joined the army in homeland defense, Russian Olympic medalists attended a propaganda show hosted by President Vladimir Putin at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. Russia's successful Olympic heroes proudly wore the war symbol "Z" on their jackets and beamed with high-ranking politicians. Among others, cross-country skiing Olympic champion Alexander Bolshunov was there.

The Swedish biathlon star Sebastian Samuelsson wondered what exactly was behind the performance. “I wonder if they were forced to do this or if they are really that stupid. In any case, it's sick," he told " Aftonbladet “. Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid also agreed: “It’s totally sick. This brings back memories of 1938 in Germany. It's disgusting that the world has become like this again." Bolshunov had previously posted a photo of himself in an old racing suit from the Soviet era with the title: "CCCP 1980" on his Instagram account. CCCP is an acronym for the Joint Soviet Union, which would include Ukraine. 1980, however, was the year when Russia invaded Afghanistan and the Olympic Games in Moscow were boycotted by the USA.

Bolshunov (left) at Putin's propaganda production. © IMAGO / Pavel Bednyakov

The post, which he quickly deleted, and his participation in the propaganda show now have concrete consequences for Bolshunov: his French ski supplier Rossignol immediately stopped working with the cross-country skiing star. His coach Yurij Borodavko commented on the incident: “No problem, Sasha (Bolshunov) had just gotten a lot of new skis, so he'll get by for a while.” Other partners such as Swix (stick supplier) and the German glove supplier Kinetixx also terminated the contract.

At Alexander Bolshunov, most of the partners are gone! © Nordic Focus

Bolshunov's actions received a lot of criticism in the scene: “I was shocked when I saw it - and then again not. “I distance myself from it so much that I can’t say anything about it, I’m really angry,” said cross-country skiing overall World Cup winner Therese Johaug. FIS racing director Pierre Mignerey assessed the situation politically: “Distancing yourself from Putin can have serious consequences for well-known athletes. They would get into trouble with the authorities and risk their competitive sports careers. Then he might have to leave his country, or worse,” Mignerey said NRK . “It would be good to know if they had the choice, the opportunity to say NO. Therese was born in Norway, I was born in France, we were born in countries where we are allowed to express our free opinions publicly,” says Mignerey. Russia's athletes in conflict However, the position of newcomer Veronika Stepanova is clear. She led the Russian relay team to gold at the Olympics and publicly acknowledged her support for Putin on social networks: “I was able to talk to him personally. Putin is a big supporter of our sport, and thanks to him our country has become big and strong again. “I received the Kremlin award with great pride and will continue to try to honor my country,” the 21-year-old wrote.

Veronika Stepanova is clearly in favor of Putin and does not understand the West. © Nordic Focus

It is still completely unclear whether the Russians will be allowed to compete in the World Cup next winter. The ban is currently in effect until September and will then be reassessed. It would be a major setback for Putin's propaganda. Cross-country skiing is one of the most popular sports in Russia; an average of 1,5 million Russians watch a normal World Cup on television. Most ski companies have now ended their cooperation with Russia. Members of the Amer Sport group Atomic and Salomon have not yet terminated existing contracts with individual athletes, but are not delivering any new material at the moment and are closely monitoring the situation as it develops, explains Global PR Manager Denis Dietrich. Will Russia be left without equipment in the future? The chairman of the Russian Biathlon Association, Viktor Maigurov, finds the exclusion of Russian biathletes humiliating and raised the alarm that there will be a shortage of top-quality equipment in Russia in the future. Now he wants to quickly improve the equipment for his athletes. Maigurov pointed out that the association had already had “positive experience” with the use of local materials last season and that the biathletes at the Olympics had won several medals with products from Russian manufacturers.

Nevertheless, Maigurov is also clear: “The development of elite-class equipment will probably take dozens of years.” Russia’s only ski manufacturer “STC”, which has so far mainly produced entry-level and children’s models, was much more confident: “We will soon change our production and provide our athletes with the best skis!”

Will the Russians have to make do without Western material when they return to the World Cup? © APA/afp / CHRISTOF STACHE

The former biathlete emphasized that the association does not want to break off relations with foreign manufacturers and is looking for ways to continue working together under the new circumstances. The leading ski manufacturer in Nordic sports Fischer is unlikely to resume operations in Russia. It was only in 2020 that the burned-down Fischer factory in the western Ukrainian town of Mukachevo was rebuilt; several thousand employees produce around two million skis a year. The production stop of Europe's largest ski production company could also have an impact on the global availability of skis.

Russia's federation recently planned its own Biathlon World Cup for Russian and Belarusian athletes with six stations. Another blow to Russia's winter sports could soon follow, after the loss of the biathlon women's relay medal in Sochi 2014, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has opened a further 17 cases against Russian athletes.

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“It's sick”: That's what it's like for Russia's winter sports

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