Veronika Stepanova made her definitive breakthrough during the Olympics. As an anchor woman on the Russian relay team, she secured the gold in impressive fashion.
Since then, he has characterized himself as an active figure on social media. When he expressed support for Vladimir Putin during a recent awards ceremony, he sparked a strong reaction among athletes. He believes that Russia has grown into a “strong, proud and courageous nation” during his lifetime.
– Not everyone likes it, but we will win, as we did in the Olympics. Thank you to the President for flying the country’s flag high. We’re not taking it down. I promise, Stepanova said during the awards ceremony, before she gets the gold medal from Beijing signed by Putin.
AWARDED BY PUTIN: Vladimir Putin shakes hands and gives a speech during the event where medal winners from the Beijing Olympics were honored in Moscow recently.
Photo: Vladimir Astapkovich / AP
Helene Marie Fossesholm’s Norwegian cross-country talent was evident in her speech about Stepanova. They had an off-the-beaten-track tone when they met, but he wasn’t sure how it would turn out in the future.
– The front line that Putin deserves
He admits that he is disappointed and angry with Stepanova.
– It is said that you should separate sports and politics, but then you have Russia which clearly does not separate sports and politics. They use sport as propaganda, and then it becomes difficult for us to separate that too. At least if the practitioners themselves don’t tell the difference. The front line that Putin deserves. And those values are so contradictory to mine that I somehow can’t tell,” Fossesholm told NRK.
– It is impossible to separate sports and politics. Not like in Russia.
Stepanova is holding her last international competition for the season on Norwegian soil. He won two bronze medals from WC junior at Lygna, but was not allowed to start at Drammen or Holmenkollen.
– Far from me
Fossesholm said they hadn’t been in touch since the Olympics and found it hard to say how it felt to be in touch with each other when they were spotted at the starting line again.
– I can’t answer it until I experience it. But it is clear that it will not be forgotten at all. Obviously there are some values he stands for, because otherwise he wouldn’t have posted them on Instagram and then taken it to that level, Fossesholm said.
– There are values that are so far away for me. I can’t imagine it. That’s weird. You can only imagine that, when you meet someone who has conflicting values like his own, and who supports them.
– The pinnacle of naivety
When Fossesholm and Stepanova will meet again remains unclear. As long as Russia continues to fight in Ukraine, cross-country manager Espen Bjervig does not envision Russia’s return to the World Cup.
– Since I spoke at the Kremlin reception in honor of the Russian Olympic champion, I have been humiliated by requests from Western journalists. I’ve met a few of them, and maybe they got an impression of me, Stepanova wrote on Instagram, accompanied by three photos of her on a horse.
– I have an answer for them: Do you expect anything else from me? Just because I smile, speak a little English and am almost always up for some bullshit, does that make me “another kind of Russian”? The pinnacle of naivety!
NRK is one of the western media who tried to contact Veronika Stepanova, without any answer.
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