"They don't want to see us": Russian Olympic champion names the date of Russia's return to international tournaments

Yelena Välbe, head of the Russian Cross-Country Skiing Federation, expressed confidence that Russian athletes will not return to international competitions until 2028. The three-time Olympic champion also complained that no one wants to deal with representatives of the aggressor country.

Välbe said this to Championship.com. The Vladimir Putin regime's accomplice criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its president Thomas Bach, who "did everything to make sure we were nowhere to be found," and added that Russia's existence was at stake.

"On what terms can we return? Only on equal terms with other teams. I don't think we will be able to return in the next two or three years. The recovery will be long and difficult. We are not welcome everywhere. The mayor of Trondheim has definitely said that. The athletes may be even more upset than I am. But you have to understand that you don't have to humiliate yourself in front of them. When your country or a trip to the World Cup is at stake, what is there to talk about? These are difficult times. God is testing us now for lice. We will definitely miss the 2025 World Cup and the 2026 Olympics. Thomas Bach did everything he could to keep us away," said Välbe.

Earlier, Olympic biathlon champion Svetlana Sleptsova said that it was "like in some kind of concentration camp" and was outraged by the conditions of participation of Russian athletes in the 2024 Games in Paris.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, the Russian national swimming team will not participate in the 2024 Olympic Games. And the team's head coach Sergey Chepik called the Olympic Games a tournament of "NATO countries and their minions."

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