Polski
русский
Українська

"I'm surprised": Russian national team coach says she doesn't understand why Ukraine wants to "remove Russia" from world sport

Oleksandr ChekanovSport
Rodionenko criticised Ukraine

Valentina Rodionenko, the head coach of the Russian national gymnastics team, criticised Ukrainian federations and organisations for opposing the admission of athletes from the Russian Federation to international competitions. She was sincerely surprised that our country is trying to isolate itself from the aggressors in every way possible.

Rodionenko said this in a commentary to the propaganda news agency RIA Novosti, responding to the words of Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Gutzeit about the impossibility of Russia's participation in the 2024 Olympics. The representative of the Russian Federation added a narrative about the greatness of its athletes with the pathos typical of her compatriots.

''I'm surprised'': Russian national team coach says she doesn't understand why Ukraine wants to ''remove Russia'' from world sport
''I'm surprised'': Russian national team coach says she doesn't understand why Ukraine wants to ''remove Russia'' from world sport

"I am surprised that sports leaders in the Baltics, Poland, and Ukraine are fighting to remove Russia, writing various hate mail against us. What is their goal? They are trying to eliminate the rival, to kill the competition. But we know how the World Championships went last year. It was much weaker without our gymnasts. We have always dominated in Europe, and there was nothing to watch without us. Of course, we feel sorry for our guys, of course, we would like to reaffirm our Olympic claims. But we haven't given up, we haven't weakened anything, we continue to work," Rodionenko said.

''I'm surprised'': Russian national team coach says she doesn't understand why Ukraine wants to ''remove Russia'' from world sport

As a reminder, a year before the start of the 2024 Winter Olympics, on 26 July, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not send invitations to Russia and Belarus to compete. In addition, the media disclosed the IOC's plans to allow Russians to participate in the Games in the status of a refugee team.

''I'm surprised'': Russian national team coach says she doesn't understand why Ukraine wants to ''remove Russia'' from world sport

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Vadym Gutzeit named the condition under which Ukraine is ready to boycott the 2024 Olympics. In addition, it became known that an anti-Russian coalition of 35 countries had been formed in the IOC.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!

Other News

A two-time European weightlifting champion, who was one step away from a medal at the Olympics, was killed in action

A two-time European weightlifting champion, who was one step away from a medal at the Olympics, was killed in action

A native of the Luhansk region fought from the first days of the full-scale invasion
What can ruin okroshka: never cook this dish like this

What can ruin okroshka: never cook this dish like this

There are two important nuances
When will Ukraine perform at Eurovision 2024 and under what number alyona alyona & Jerry Heil

When will Ukraine perform at Eurovision 2024 and under what number alyona alyona & Jerry Heil

Representatives will sing in the first half of the semifinals