Letter from athletes causes resignations.
Russian cross country skiers wrote a letter to the president of the Federation of Russia Dimitry Medvedev, which they gave him in person, after the ceremony where the president acknowledged the proud medal winners of Vancouver Olympic Games.
The national team turned to the president to get help. They wrote that it is necessary to change the system of the Federation. Everyone is looking for someone to accuse, but the simple change of people doesn't give anything. They called it "walking in a circle". They pointed out that the only thing that can have any effect is changing the whole system.
The skiers wrote that the president of the Russian Skiing Federation doesn't think of the athletes as human beings. They believe that Loginov didn't choose the best athletes for the Olympics.
The athletes wrote that they lack good healthcare - the doctors weren't able to take care of the most common problems that skiers meet from season to season. They also complained about the quality of food they have to eat, about the living conditions and transportation conditions.
The wax techs are working basically from their own enthusiasm, since they don't receive normal salaries for their vital roles. The average wage of a member of Team Russia is 15 thousand rubles a month (approximately 500 USD).
The athletes point out that the management is interested in their work only as much as it takes for them to stay on their positions. The coaches are complaining about issues that could be resolved by working on them, but instead they blame the athletes for not working hard enough.
The coaches and doctors don't get any blame when the athletes use banned substances to reach the demanded goals. The athletes point out that these issues will not be resolved unless the management takes the responsibility.
They officially declared that the leadership of the Skiing Federation in Russia is incompetent in modern sport.
The letter was signed by:
Olga Rotcheva
Ilia Chernousov
Irina Khazova
Artem Zhmurko
Valentina Novikova
Natalia Korosteleva
Maxim Vylegzhanin
Nikolay Pankratov
Olga Savialova
Nikolay Morilov
Andrey Parfenov
Alexey Petukhov
Alexander Panzhinskiy
Nikita Kriukov
By today, the president of the country's cross-country skiing federation, Vladimir Loginov, has resigned. He is the third sports chief to quit since the end of the Games.
Loginov, who took office six years ago, stepped down after his athletes underperformed in Canada, taking only four medals – half as many as they got in Turin in 2006. (Russia Today)
Nikita Kriukov has said that for the president of the cross-country skiing federation, they want to see a person who thinks about the athletes. He does not want to point out any names he would like to see on the position.
- "I am an athlete and my job is to ski. We are already tired of the situations that have arisen in the national teams," he said.
Skierpost.com/Skisport.ru/RT
Photo: Eesti Suusaliit
