“I regret that we included them in the video.” Bolshunov and Nepryaeva flashed in the promo of the World Cup – FIS apologizes for these 2.5 seconds

In Slovenia starts the world championship in skiing . Russian athletes were not allowed to the tournament, but the scandal with their participation still occurred.

Our leaders Alexander Bolshunov and Natalya Nepryaeva got into the preview of the World Cup – the federation had to apologize.

What kind of video and how did Bolshunov and Nepryaeva end up there?

5 days before the start of the World Championships in Planica, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) released a one-minute video preview.

The dynamic video showed all the sports in which medals will be played: cross-country skiing, ski jumping and biathlon. Frames from past competitions change very quickly, but you can still recognize the athletes.

So the Russian skiers were quickly spotted. At the 22nd second, Nepryaeva and Swede Jonna Sundling appear in the frame. On the 23rd – Bolshunov fighting Johannes Clabo, then – a slightly larger shot of Alexander and Eric Valnes. In total, frames with our stars took 2.5 seconds.

The fact that Russian skiers got into the video is understandable. The broadcast excerpts are taken from the last World Championship, which took place in Oberstdorf, Germany in 2021.

The footage with Nepryaeva is a team sprint, where our team fought for medals to the last and finished fourth.

The first passage with Bolshunov is the struggle for the relay gold.

The second is the final races in the sprint.

Why did FIS apologize for the Russians in the frame?

In all races, Russian skiers competed for medals. Anyway, at the 2021 World Cup, Bolshunov took gold, two silvers and bronze, Nepryaeva took silver. The fact that they got into the highlights of the last tournament is not at all surprising.

Yes, ours were in the lead at the last World Cup, but now they are suspended from international starts. Therefore, their appearance in the preview raised questions. FIS even apologized for this:

“That was my fault. This shouldn’t have happened. But when the video was released, it was too late to change something.

There were very small pieces with these athletes. But still, we shouldn’t have included them in the video. I regret that it happened,” complained FIS press officer Sunne Dürhaug.

The coach of Bolshunov and Nepryaeva accused the FIS of Russophobia

The rivals did not react too sharply to the appearance of the Russians in the promo – the FIS apologies were quite enough not to turn the situation into a farce. But in Russia, the reaction of the federation was not understood.

• National team coach Yuri Borodavko (he is the one who works with Bolshunov and Nepryaeva) accused the FIS of disliking Russia: “I absolutely don’t care what and how these Russophobes say there. They don’t even know what to complain about anymore. Sick people.

Bolshunov and Nepryaeva are recognized leaders in the world of skiing, they are known and respected. The people’s love isn’t going anywhere, and neither is their status as great athletes. And these politicized people are nobody and there is no way to call them.”

• Two-time Olympic champion in biathlon Dmitry Vasilyev traditionally recalled the “Norwegian doping”: “The inclusion of our athletes in the video does not mean that the whole world has missed us. This only says that the steroid Norwegians are already tired of everyone.

Everyone understands that they only win on illegal drugs. They were overlaid with certificates, supposedly they are all sick, use the harshest drugs and win. Little by little, this is starting to bother the whole world. ”

• Another biathlon legend Alexander Tikhonov is also surprised: “Only inadequate people can do such things. Is it possible to say anything about great athletes? This is the heritage of the nation.

We, oddly enough, do not say anything bad about them. I think it’s very ugly, and the worst thing is that there will come times when they all have to blush and apologize.”

• And the commentator Dmitry Guberniev accused the FIS of hypocrisy: “They attracted our best athletes – these are Nepryaeva and Bolshunov. And apologize for what? When you sell the rights to Russia, do you want to apologize? No, because they want to earn more money. This is called “hypocrites – go ahead!”

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Bolshunov and Nepryaeva will still perform during the World Cup – but not in Planica against the Norwegians and Swedes, but at the All-Russian tournament “Champion Heights”. Match TV will show competitions in the Arkhangelsk region from February 23 to March 5.