The State Duma named the "real reason" why Russia was banned from world sports and became a laughingstock

State Duma deputy and Olympic champion Svetlana Zhurova said that Scandinavian countries are allegedly preventing Russian athletes from returning to international competitions for fear of competition. According to her, if Russian skiers and biathletes return, they will be the ones who will compete for medals.

However, a survey of 139 skiers conducted by the International Ski Federation (FIS) shows that 51.8% opposed the admission of Russians, 34.5% agreed to their participation under a neutral flag, and only 13.7% supported a full return with Russian symbols.

"We cannot return because of the influence of Scandinavian countries in the biathlon and ski federations. They win the most. These countries do not want to compete with Russia, realizing that Sasha Bolshunov will come and start winning. It looks ugly, and they say it's because of politics. But in reality, they don't want to compete, realizing that the Russians will get medals," R-Sport quoted the 53-year-old parliamentarian as saying.

In the comments, users did not take Zhurova's words seriously. Some reminded them that Russian biathlon had long since lost its position, while others said that Zhurova repeated the same statements, blaming the West for all the troubles. Some emphasized that if Europe is truly Russophobic, then why would Russian athletes want to return there?

Some commentators took Zhurova's words as ridiculous. "In skiing, only Bolshunov is competitive against the Norwegians, and in biathlon, our medals were taken only under doping," one user noted. Others called the MP's statement a "propaganda alarm clock" that goes off every few hours.

Earlier, Svetlana Zhurova expressed confidence that Russian athletes would be returned to international competitions by the summer. The State Duma deputy emphasized that it seems absurd to her that athletes from the Russian Federation should be excluded or admitted under a neutral flag.

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