Russia’s greatest Olympic hero, Alexander Bolshunov, 25, was not in the Kremlin when Vladimir Putin on Tuesday celebrated the winner of the Winter Olympics. The president was also praised by the new ski comet Veronika Stepanova (21).

He thanked Putin for his interest in sports and said in a quote that was shown on the TV channel Pjervyj:

– In my eyes, Russia is again strong, proud and successful. Not everyone in the world likes it, that’s clear.

Stepanova continues in a way that shows she is thinking about war and sanctions against Russian sport:

– But we are on the right track, and we will definitely win, just like we won at the Olympics.

He and other heroes of the Olympic and Paralympic Games received Russia’s “order of the motherland” on Tuesday:

– I am very proud that today I received such a high award from the president of our country. Thank you so much for flying the country’s flag aloft. We will not fail, I promise, said Veronika Stepanova.

– The speech came from the heart, his coach Yuri Borodavko told RIA Sport.

Health problems

Three-time Olympic winner Aleksandr Bolshunov, however, did not attend. According to coach Yuri Borodavko did not meet Bolshunov demanded health from the Kremlin because he had not had time to take a PCR test for coronavirus.

Skier Veronika Stepanova has posted a photo of the Kremlin along with several other athletes, including figure skating star Kamila Valijeva (16 Tuesday), who lost gold in team competition due to a positive doping test in December 2021.

In his address to practitioners on Tuesday, President Putin stated that Valijeva could not achieve her achievements by using illegal means.

Langer exited towards Iversen

The same Stepanova continues Instagram Tuesday morning hard against Emil Iversen after interview at Dagbladet where the cross-country star said that “as long as Putin is in power, I hope we look at Russia as little as possible to start in all sports”. Iversen also stated on VG about the same.

– When another world-class skier sounds so condescending and when he openly starts advocating for what sounds like “regime change” in a neighboring country, it definitely deserves a strong payback, he wrote.

Only we Russians will decide how we want to live and who will be our leader. The last thing we care about is external opinion on the case, including yours, Stepanova continued.

VG has been trying to get comments from Emil Iversen about Stepanova’s proposal.

He also recommended Emil Iversen to visit the monument to Soviet soldiers at Vestre Gravlund in Oslo.

– It says «Norway thank you». I suggest you stop by, Emil – just like I did when I was in Norway last. It may teach you how to treat each other. Tips & Warnings Show respect for our differences. Never too late to learn.

Thus, Veronika Stepanova uses Putin’s classic approach to talking about World War II, or the “Great Patriotic War”, as it is called in Russian.

in quarantine

According to Russian media, the practitioners who were in the Kremlin on Tuesday have been quarantined for a long time. It’s a bit unclear if it was eight or ten days.

– Sasha (Bolshunov) did not go to the meeting with the president. He has several health challenges. These are requirements that we must meet before meeting the president. He hasn’t taken the PCR test yet. He fell ill in Kirovsk, plus the day before yesterday he had to undergo a new treatment on his teeth, Bolshunov coach Borodavko told TV Match.

He said that Bolshunov’s persistent problems with the jaw / teeth were caused by poor grooming in adolescence.

The heroes of the Olympic and Paralympic Games arrived in the morning at the Kremlin walls and first met Deputy Prime Minister (and former head of the Sochi Olympics) Dmitry Chernychenko. After several hours of waiting, Putin himself arrived.

Russian participants at the Chinese Olympics were unable to participate under the Russian flag due to systematic Russian doping prior to the Sochi Olympics at home in 2014. Therefore, the Russian national anthem was also not played for the Russian winner.