When you weren't accepted to the Olympics. Russian hockey players who were not included in the Olympics at the last moment

Three weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Russian sport received another blow from the IOC. The applications of 111 athletes were rejected, preventing them from even competing under the Olympic flag. the site explains how the stars eastern neighbors were left without the Games and why Russia does not dare to boycott Pyeongchang 2018.

What happened to the Russian Olympians again?

As you know, Russia was not allowed to attend the Olympics in Pyeongchang, but “clean” athletes were offered to compete under a neutral flag. To do this, their federations need to send applications to the IOC. At the end of last week, the review of about 500 such applications was completed. 111 of them were rejected and the athletes did not receive invitations. Among them are a number of medal contenders: skier Sergei Ustyugov, short track speed skater Viktor An, biathlete Anton Shipulin, speed skaters Denis Yuskov and Pavel Kulizhnikov.

The list of inadmissible athletes includes hockey players, figure skaters, and bobsledders. The most seriously affected teams were cross-country skiing, biathlon, speed skating and short track speed skating. More than half of the athletes in these events received a refusal.

Ideally clean, according to the IOC, are the curling, freestyle and alpine skiing teams.

How did the IOC select athletes?

Group led by a chairman independent doping testing organization Valerie Fourneyron was guided by several criteria at once. So, athletes should not be disqualified or found guilty of any of the anti-doping rule violations (which is why speed skaters Yuskov and Kulizhnikov, hockey players Belov and Plotnikov were denied), should not be mentioned in the McLaren report (which is obvious, given the IOC's lifetime bans) and must meet the requirements necessary to protect the integrity of Olympic Games.

The last point does not seem clear, but Fourneuron has already explained what is at stake. The IOC must be 100% sure that the athlete is clean and does not violate the rules. This takes into account the data of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, and the numbers of biological passports, and the testimony of anonymous informants, and complete information about compliance with anti-doping rules. For example, if doping officers decide to check an athlete, and his real location does not correspond to the one that the athlete indicated in the special ADAMS system, then the IOC is unlikely to trust him. Or if testing does not show the presence of prohibited substances, but the biological passport data shows abnormal deviations in the content of red blood cells, then this athlete also raises suspicions among the commission.

Only athletes with an ideal reputation received invitations to the Olympics. Even small doubts among members of the Fourneuron group put an end to the athlete’s prospects.

Russia explains this selectivity by political motives, the IOC - by the desire to be sure of the purity of the athletes of the Olympic team.

Why does any commission decide who will compete for Russia?

Not for Russia, but for the team of “Olympic athletes from Russia.” This is a very important clarification. By by and large, this is the team overseen by the IOC. If athletes want to compete under the Olympic flag, they must meet the committee's requirements. And the IOC can set whatever conditions it wants, because, let’s repeat, this is their team.

Yes, the suspensions of Anton Shipulin and Viktor Ahn look strange, but Russia still has time to find out the reason for their exclusion and influence the group’s decision. Until January 28, the list is preliminary, not final.

Is the IOC deliberately suspending the strongest Russian athletes?

This is not entirely true. Yes, among those not invited there are obvious contenders for medals. There are about 10 of them. Plus several athletes from ski and biathlon relay races. The IOC did not approve the applications of 111 athletes, so it is logical that among them there are real tops. As for the athletes who are not competing for awards, officials and journalists simply did not pay attention to their names. Hence the erroneous feeling that only the elite were rejected.

For example, in biathlon only Anton Shipulin is one of the world leaders, but seven other shooting skiers of a lower level were not allowed to participate in the Games.

The hockey team lost Sergei Plotnikov, Anton Belov, Valery Nichushkin, Mikhail Naumenkov and Alexey Bereglazov. The last two were not seriously considered by head coach Oleg Znarok, Belov was caught doping, Plotnikov violated anti-doping rules. Only Nichushkin remains, but his place on the team was not guaranteed either. At the same time, the IOC allowed all the leaders of the hockey team - Ilya Kovalchuk, Vadim Shipachev, Pavel Datsyuk, Vyacheslav Voinov and Nikita Gusev.

And most importantly: representatives of the Furneyron group did not know who exactly they were weeding out. All cases were considered anonymously, that is, without indicating the athlete’s name.

What can the Russian team count on now?

Of course, it is not possible to repeat the success of Sochi 2014, but the team will not be left without medals. Russia's position in figure skating is traditionally strong, where you can count on two or three awards. Good season are carried out by freestylers, medals are real even in curling and alpine skiing, which were recently exotic for the country.

Finally, in the absence of NHL players, bookmakers consider Russia the clear favorite for the hockey tournament. Their chances are estimated to be twice as high as those of last year's finalists - Canada and Sweden.

So the team of “Olympic athletes from Russia” may well bring about 10 awards from Pyeongchang.

Why doesn't Russia boycott this Olympics?

On the eve of the IOC, there were indeed calls for a boycott of Pyeongchang 2018. Moreover, even Vladimir Putin said that performing under a neutral flag is a humiliation for Russia. But gradually an opinion began to emerge, which is most clearly seen in the example of the head of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov.

There are several reasons for this. First, the IOC made a nod to Russia by noting the country's name in the team name. This is an unprecedented case in the history of the Games. It’s one thing to be a neutral athlete, but quite another to be an “Olympic athlete from Russia.” Look at the hockey team's uniform. Isn’t it clear that this is the Russian team?

Secondly, an official boycott of the Olympics threatens expulsion from the IOC for a period of eight years.

It was possible to suggest that the athletes themselves refuse to participate, but, contrary to rumors, Russia did not agree to this.

However, we still need to wait for the list of invited athletes to be approved. The final version will be published by early next week. It is possible that it will bring new shocks to Russia.

In Korea, it was published on Thursday afternoon, and it seems like everyone has already spoken out about it. Nevertheless, the question “why did they take this one and not that one” in Russian media is still relevant today. RIA Novosti correspondent Alexander Rogulev in his editorial blog evaluates the choice of his headquarters.

"Bring cartridges"

The two main alleged complaints against Znark and everyone else are the absence of Vladimir Tkachev and the national team. Another, indirect one, is the presence of Sergei Mozyakin in the lineup.

The coaching staff is responsible for the results at the tournament, and they are also responsible for those they called to the national team. Each of the hockey players will have their own task at the Olympics and, in the opinion of the coaching staff, they will complete these tasks better than Tkachev and Tryamkin. It was exactly the same at all previous tournaments. Therefore, it will be relevant to talk about the choice of Znarka and co after the Olympic Games.

"No one is immune from injury"

One of the most famous “pictures” of the Sochi Olympics. After the defeat from the Finns in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov was literally pressed against the wall of the press center after a short press conference; a crowd of 30-40 journalists formed around the head coach of the Russian national team. Bilyaletdinov fought back as best he could, but in response to another question about Sergei Mozyakin’s non-call, he let slip: “At the Olympics he would not have reached the gate.”

Almost four years have passed, but Bilyaletdinov is reminded of this phrase every time Mozyakin breaks the scoring record, takes the title or is called up to Oleg Znark’s team. And during these four years there were enough reasons to remember “I wouldn’t have reached the gate.” Maybe this year, after Danis Zaripov left Magnitogorsk, Mozyakin is not playing like that. Zhamnov said approximately the same thing about Mozyakin.

“This is an experienced player,” the scout said on Thursday. “Of course, we also took into account the fact that this is Mozyakin’s last chance to play at the Olympics. The man has done a lot for our hockey, I’m sure he will be useful in some matches at the Olympics.”

Don’t forget, the Russian team still has three control games ahead, in which anything can happen. We all know about the increased incidence of injuries among Russian hockey players at Znark during preparation for major tournaments. Remember the story with Nail Yakupov before the 2016 World Championships?

So I would suggest waiting until the hockey players go to Korea. Who knows, maybe the same Vladimir Tkachev will fly to the base in Anyang, Korea, as the main player of the “Olympic athletes from Russia”?

How did it happen that none of the hockey players from the strongest team of the 2017/2018 season plays on the Russian national team?

Kazan Ak Bars won the Gagarin Cup for a record third time in history. In the final series, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov's club confidently beat CSKA with a score of 4:1. The most surprising thing in this situation is that the newly won Gagarin Cup does not include a single Olympic champion. Those players who were literally smashed by Ak Bars went to Pyeongchang. How so?

Veterans are dragging

Was it really the legionnaires that pulled the Kazan club together? Yes, the winning goal, which became the only goal in the golden match, was scored by Canadian Rob Klinkhammer. Other legios also made significant contributions.

ners - Justin Azevedo, Jiri Sekac and Anton Lander. But this is where the list of Ak Bars foreigners ends, and they were not the real leaders at all.

Perhaps the main one driving force Kazan became 37-year-old veteran Danis Zaripov. But before the start of the season, Zaripov’s career was hanging by a thread - he was accused of doping and disqualified for two years. But Ak Bars did not abandon the veteran; lawyers fought hard for the striker for several months and proved his innocence.

In November, last season's best sniper returned to the ice, which would seem to be great news for the Russian team on the eve of the Olympics. However, Znarok never called Zaripov to the team. The only explanation that can be for this fact is age; Zaripov is already 37 years old. But exactly the same amount goes to Magnitogorsk Metallurg striker Sergei Mozyakin, who made it to the national team.

Apparently, according to the same principle, another eminent veteran, who is still wow, Andrei Markov, was left without an application. He is even older than his colleagues Zaripov and Mozyakin - he is already 39. But if you look at the statistics, as part of Ak Bars he spent the most time on the ice per game - almost 22 minutes. In addition, Markov handed out assists left and right - 28 per season. However, Znarok stubbornly ignored the statistics.

Young shoots

Let's say the national team has taken a course towards rejuvenation, which explains the absence of Zaripov and Markov. But how can you not give one of the best snipers in the KHL, Vladimir Tkachev, a chance? The Znark team included several forwards from the category of “promising”, but the 24-year-old striker, whose star had already risen and was shining with might and main, Main coach left the national team in reserve.

Of the other young talents that should be on the team, it is worth highlighting striker Stanislav Galiev, who went overseas early, failed the season for Washington, and then returned to Kazan and played like never before. In terms of distributing scoring passes, young defenders Vasily Tokranov and Albert Yarullin are trying to compete with Andrei Markov.

In addition, goalkeeper Emil Garipov, who was recognized as the main hero of the final match, had fully grown to the level of the national team. Moreover, Garipov claimed to be the most valuable player of the entire playoffs, stopping almost 95% of the shots thrown at him. His phenomenal statistics make him the main contender for a place in the starting team, but first he must at least get into the squad.

The Russian national team will no longer be prepared for the World Hockey Championship by Znarok, but by young Ilya Vorobyov. In this regard, there is hope that not only SKA and CSKA players, but also hockey players from other clubs will be able to get into the team. If the above persons are not included in the application, then conspiracy theories can be raised.

This is already politics - this is how the head of the National Olympic Committee of Bulgaria, the current world record holder in the high jump, Stefka Kostadinova, commented on the situation surrounding the exclusion of leading domestic athletes from the Games. The famous athlete emphasized: those who were caught doping must be punished. But it is unfair to deprive “clean” athletes of the right to compete at the Olympics, who worked for many years to get to these competitions.

The French publication Ski-Nordique on its official website wished our athletes through the court to achieve justice and the right to compete in South Korea. Journalists called the IOC's decision a violation of justice.

And the Le Monde newspaper, citing its sources, reported that some manipulations were carried out with the doping tests of Anton Shipulin and Viktor Ahn. And this could be the reason for denying the Olympic champions the right to compete in Pyeongchang.

The IOC initially set the main condition for the participation of neutral Russian athletes in the Olympic Games: the organization itself would invite Olympians who had no problems with doping. However, at the exit, the IOC explained that “failure to be included in the list for the Games does not necessarily mean that the athlete was caught doping.”

On December 5 in Lausanne, the International Olympic Committee made a decision on the participation of the Russian team in the Olympics in Pyeongchang. What kind of decision this was, probably everyone remembers - a trip, but in a neutral status. The essence of one of the points voiced by IOC President Thomas Bach was as follows: only those Russian athletes who will be approved by the International Olympic Committee itself will go to Korea. The day before it became completely clear: the invitation system from the IOC is tough and even cruel. It turns out that those Russian athletes who could compete for medals of any value in Pyeongchang are not invited to the Olympics.

“It was a shock for me. Everyone understands that these are the leaders of our teams, titled athletes,” says Dmitry Svishchev, president of the Russian Curling Federation

It all started on the evening of January 22, when the most titled short track speed skater on the planet, six-time Olympic champion Viktor Ahn, and his teammates were not allowed to participate in the Games.

Disappointing news arrived throughout yesterday. It all started in the morning with shocking information that Anton Shipulin, the leader and top Russian biathlete of many recent years. About Shipulin we can say that he is the Russian biathlon. In total, almost the entire Russian biathlon team was rejected. So far, only three have been admitted: the press names Anton Babikov, Tatyana Akimova and Ulyana Kaisheva.

Also passing by Pyeongchang is the best Russian skier Sergei Ustyugov. Winner of Tour de Ski, multiple champion and world championship medalist. Towards the evening, when emotions had subsided a little, Sergei Ustyugov had an appeal on Instagram in which he clearly and.

“As a person who educates his life in sports, I wanted and was motivated to go and win the Olympic Games. But the story of my friends and colleagues disqualified by the IOC made me think. I am confident in their purity, as in my own. I was surprised by today’s news and I was much less upset than in November about the disqualification of the guys. And this time I will not worry, but will continue to do my job and enjoy it. Life does not end at the Olympic Games, there will be other competitions where we will win and prove that. we are Russians, we are strong, we are pure,” wrote Sergei Ustyugov on his Instagram page.

Next, the Russian Figure Skating Federation received notifications that Ksenia Stolbova and Ivan Bukin were not allowed to go to Pyeongchang. Thus, we automatically lose two pairs at once. Ksenia Stolbova, winner of the Sochi Olympics in team competitions, performs in sports pairs in a duet with Fedor Klimov. Ivan Bukin is ice dancing. In Pyeongchang we will not see the beautiful couple who just a couple of days ago took bronze at the European Championships.

“We have two numbers of the main team knocked out. This was a shock for us. All athletes who are now on the national team undergo the necessary doping tests; there have been no complaints against any of them, either in recent years or before that.” , says Alexander Gorshkov, President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation.

Speed ​​skating is a different story. Ineligible for 90 percent of the skating team. In Pyeongchang we will not see Denis Yuskov and Pavel Kulizhnikov - multiple medalists and world champions, and Denis Yuskov just recently set a new world record at one and a half thousand meters. In Pyeongchang they had to at least compete, and most likely beat the Dutch. This won't happen now. Pavel Kulizhnikov said that one can only hope for a miracle and wait for the official announcement on January 28.

The women's speed skating team also suffered heavy losses. So far, only three have been admitted: Olga Graf, Angelina Golikova and Natalya Voronina. Golikova has already stated that in such a situation she cannot be happy about admission.

Three weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Russian sport received another blow from the IOC. The applications of 111 athletes were rejected, preventing them from even competing under the Olympic flag. SPORT.TUT.BY explains how the stars of our eastern neighbors were left without the Games and why Russia does not dare to boycott Pyeongchang 2018.

What happened to the Russian Olympians again?

As you know, Russia was not allowed to attend the Olympics in Pyeongchang, but “clean” athletes were offered to compete under a neutral flag. To do this, their federations need to send applications to the IOC. At the end of last week, the review of about 500 such applications was completed. 111 of them were rejected and the athletes did not receive invitations. Among them are a number of medal contenders: skier Sergei Ustyugov, short track speed skater Viktor An, biathlete Anton Shipulin, speed skaters Denis Yuskov and Pavel Kulizhnikov.

Pavel Kulizhnikov. Photo: schaatsen.nl

The list of inadmissible athletes includes hockey players, figure skaters, and bobsledders. The most seriously affected teams were cross-country skiing, biathlon, speed skating and short track speed skating. More than half of the athletes in these events received a refusal.

Ideally clean, according to the IOC, are the curling, freestyle and alpine skiing teams.

How did the IOC select athletes?

The group, led by the chairman of the independent doping testing organization, Valerie Fourneyron, was guided by several criteria. Thus, athletes should not be disqualified or found guilty of any violation of anti-doping rules (this is why speed skaters Yuskov and Kulizhnikov, hockey players Belov and Plotnikov were denied), should not be mentioned in the McLaren report (which is obvious, given the lifetime disqualifications of the IOC) and must meet the requirements necessary to protect the integrity of the Olympic Games.

Anton Shipulin. Photo: biathlonrus.com

The last point does not seem clear, but Fourneuron has already explained what is at stake. The IOC must be 100% sure that the athlete is clean and does not violate the rules. This takes into account the data of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, and the numbers of biological passports, and the testimony of anonymous informants, and complete information about compliance with anti-doping rules. For example, if doping officers decide to check an athlete, and his real location does not correspond to the one that the athlete indicated in the special ADAMS system, then the IOC is unlikely to trust him. Or if testing does not show the presence of prohibited substances, but the biological passport data shows abnormal deviations in the content of red blood cells, then this athlete also raises suspicions among the commission.

Only athletes with an ideal reputation received invitations to the Olympics. Even small doubts among members of the Fourneuron group put an end to the athlete’s prospects.

Russia explains this selectivity by political motives, the IOC - by the desire to be sure of the purity of the athletes of the Olympic team.

Why does any commission decide who will compete for Russia?

Not for Russia, but for the team of “Olympic athletes from Russia.” This is a very important clarification. By and large, this is a team overseen by the IOC. If athletes want to compete under the Olympic flag, they must meet the committee's requirements. And the IOC can set whatever conditions they want, because, let’s repeat, this is their team.

Reuters

Yes, the suspensions of Anton Shipulin and Viktor Ahn look strange, but Russia still has time to find out the reason for their exclusion and influence the group’s decision. Until January 28, the list is preliminary, not final.

Is the IOC deliberately suspending the strongest Russian athletes?

This is not entirely true. Yes, among those not invited there are obvious contenders for medals. There are about 10 of them. Plus several athletes from ski and biathlon relay races. The IOC did not approve the applications of 111 athletes, so it is logical that among them there are real tops. As for the athletes who are not competing for awards, officials and journalists simply did not pay attention to their names. Hence the erroneous feeling that only the elite were rejected.

For example, in biathlon only Anton Shipulin is one of the world leaders, but seven other shooting skiers of a lower level were not allowed to participate in the Games.

Anton Belov. Reuters

The hockey team lost Sergei Plotnikov, Anton Belov, Valery Nichushkin, Mikhail Naumenkov and Alexey Bereglazov. The last two were not seriously considered by head coach Oleg Znarok, Belov was caught doping, Plotnikov violated anti-doping rules. Only Nichushkin remains, but his place on the team was not guaranteed either. At the same time, the IOC allowed all the leaders of the hockey team - Ilya Kovalchuk, Vadim Shipachev, Pavel Datsyuk, Vyacheslav Voinov and Nikita Gusev.

And most importantly: representatives of the Furneyron group did not know who exactly they were weeding out. All cases were considered anonymously, that is, without indicating the athlete’s name.

What can the Russian team count on now?

Of course, it is not possible to repeat the success of Sochi 2014, but the team will not be left without medals. Russia's position in figure skating is traditionally strong, where you can count on two or three awards. Freestyle skiers are having a good season; medals are possible even in curling and alpine skiing, which were recently exotic for the country.

Finally, in the absence of NHL players, bookmakers consider Russia the clear favorite for the hockey tournament. Their chances are estimated to be twice as high as those of last year's finalists - Canada and Sweden.

Photo: Reuters

So the team of “Olympic athletes from Russia” may well bring about 10 awards from Pyeongchang.

Why doesn't Russia boycott this Olympics?

On the eve of the December IOC decision, there were indeed calls for a boycott of Pyeongchang 2018. Moreover, even Vladimir Putin said that performing under a neutral flag is a humiliation for Russia. But gradually the opinion began to change, which is most clearly seen in the example of the head of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov.

There are several reasons for this. First, the IOC made a nod to Russia by noting the country's name in the team name. This is an unprecedented case in the history of the Games. It’s one thing to act as a neutral athlete, but quite another to be an “Olympic athlete from Russia.” Look at the hockey team's uniform. Isn’t it clear that this is the Russian team?

Secondly, an official boycott of the Olympics threatens expulsion from the IOC for a period of eight years.

It was possible to suggest that the athletes themselves refuse to participate, but, contrary to rumors, Russia did not agree to this.

However, we still need to wait for the list of invited athletes to be approved. The final version will be published by early next week. It is possible that it will bring new shocks to Russia.