Olympic ski sensation mocks Western predictions of Russian ‘collapse’

Veronika Stepanova, Russia’s cross-country skiing champion at the Winter Olympics, has questioned the West and its media for predicting their country’s doom as military conflict with Ukraine erupted, citing conflicting energy prices and general sentiment.

Stepanova shared a clip on social media from a recent marathon in her home country, noting: “10,000 people at the start of a marathon, party atmosphere. That was the Russian city of Perm at the weekend.

“I remember very well how about six months ago, when the West was just imposing sanctions on Russia, all sorts of well-wishers from abroad wrote to me and predicted the imminent collapse of my country, chaos and desperate crowds to Europe. “ the 21-year-old remembers.

“Crowds, up [the] move to the right?!” she added with a smiley rolling her eyes.

“Yesterday I was walking the streets of Perm in this cheering crowd of marathon runners and I thought: ‘You, my friends in the west, you still believe in all the crap your media is selling you, don’t you?’

“By the way, gas in Perm costs the equivalent of less than 90 eurocents, and electricity prices… well, I don’t want to upset you. Stepanova added.

Stepanova’s comments come after she also targeted International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach in recent weeks.

As early as February, the IOC recommended banning Russian athletes from international competitions – a demand that numerous sports associations have followed.

Speak with picture in Germany last month, Bach said that now is “not the time” lift the ban for Russia, but also said only 50 countries in the world supported sanctions, meaning that “We have about 150 National Olympic Committees in the IOC whose governments have not imposed sanctions” on Moscow.

Beijing 4×5K relay champion Stepanova lashed out at the comments, suggesting they were at odds with previous IOC advice.

“It’s well said here! Now we are waiting for actions to follow words.” boy wrote on Instagram.

“…I promise you, Mr. Bach, I will train with triple the energy so that it is you and no one else who will award me a medal at future games!

“I don’t know about you, but it will give me special pleasure to see your face at the same time.” Stepanova added.

In response to the Norwegians’ refusal to invite their compatriots to the Blink rollerskiing event, Stepanova has also accused the western world of doing the same “Masochism.”

“Do they want to ‘cancel’ Russian athletes in Europe, and if so, for how long?” she posed.

“Western politicians and sometimes sports officials are one thing, competition organizers, equipment manufacturers and athletes are another.

“I am calmly preparing and waiting for a sense of reality to return to the West and cure her current masochism,” he said. the ski sensation was over.