Will Russia participate in the PyeongChang Winter Games? Maybe. Not sure. A little more than 5 months before the opening ceremony, its athletes are preparing for the Olympic events with the unpleasant impression of having a sword of Damocles pointed at them. Listening to their Minister of Sports, they are wrong to worry.
Pavel Kolobkov (photo below), Vitaly Mutko's successor at the Russian Ministry of Sports, is not in the dark. He explained to the TASS agency, in a long interview, that he did not envisage for a single second that his country could be excluded from the next Winter Games. In his eyes, the scenario does not hold up.
“There is no reason to think that Russian athletes will be excluded,” confided the former fencer, six-time Olympic medalist in epee. It never occurred to me that we might be absent from this great event. »
However, the road remains long and still uncertain. The IOC Executive Board must decide in October on the case of Russia. The following month, the Council of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) should in turn rule on the situation of the Russian anti-doping agency, RUSADA, still declared non-compliant. Two major obstacles. But Pavel Kolobkov stands firm: “I dare to hope that the people who will be called upon to make decisions will do so objectively, based on facts and common sense, without being influenced by emotions. »
To listen to him, Russian sport would be targeted by “certain forces”, determined to use Western media to brandish the threat of sanctions in all circumstances. They did it at the PyeongChang Games. They will do it again, warns Pavel Kolobkov, on the Football World Cup in Russia in 2018. “I do not rule out the possibility that we will again be victims of attacks of this kind in our capacity as organizers of the next World Cup, explains the minister. But I don't imagine they can lead to anything. »
Invited to replace Vitaly Mutko last October, Pavel Kolobkov does not spare his criticism of the organization of the sports movement. “To my great surprise, it seems that international laws have no place in the world of sport. International federations live their own lives, with the freedom to adopt the laws they please. The IAAF, IOC and IPC have their own codes of conduct. But we will fight. »
In the meantime, Russia swears to its great gods to clean up at its door. “Around 80 athletes were disqualified for doping, some coaches were banned for life, we reformed the organization of our national anti-doping agency, whose managers and experts changed,” argues Pavel Kolobkov.
Above all, Russia is actively preparing to maintain its place in the world hierarchy at the next Winter Games. Pavel Kolobkov announces a complete and ambitious team next February in South Korea, a subtle mix of veterans with long Olympic experience and newcomers integrated into the national selections last year. “It will be very difficult for us to aim for first place in the medal rankings, but we can envisage appearing in the top 3 of the nations,” he predicts.
Asked by the TASS agency about the reality of doping in fencing during his own career as a swordsman, Pavel Kolobkov replied that several foreign athletes had been caught. But, according to him, the culprits had no bad intentions. “They were just being stupid. " Really?
