Kjetil Borch gets opposition from the Russian Council of Churches: – It should be banned

ÅRUNGEN (VG) After being banned since the start of the Ukraine war, Russian athletes were again allowed to participate in the World Rowing Championships. Kjetil Borch reacts (33).

– I don’t think about anything, says Porsche to VG.

According to the TASS news agency, Russia will send four single rowers to the gymnasium next month.

– It’s not something I can do anything about. But I believe that when a country is engaged in a war of aggression, it should be banned, says Ketil Burch.

And so Alexander Vyasovkin returned to the Porsche line. The Russian finished fifth when Porsche won Olympic silver in Tokyo two years ago.

Participation in the WC is fully in line with the IOC’s recommendation that Russians should be allowed to compete internationally under a neutral flag as long as they do not support the war or have ties to the military. Many private societies followed the advice.

The International Olympic Committee has not yet decided whether Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to participate in the Paris Olympics next summer. WC is the rowers first opportunity to qualify there.

Kjetil Borch has been a vocal critic of the way IOC member Astrid Ornholdt Jacobsen handled the case on behalf of the Norwegian athletes.

Porsche believes the Russians – due to previous doping cases – should have been banned from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

– They shouldn’t be at the Olympics at all. For me, the principle of neutrality is complete nonsense. It’s a big “middle finger,” he says, that allows the Russians to share the whites with the Olympic rings on their rowing oars.

Russian and Belarusian athletes are not allowed to participate as a team in the WC, but the International Rowing Federation nevertheless opened the door to participate in boat lessons with two athletes.

– Tour is a team boat. I sent an email to the International Rowing Federation Visa 2 months ago. But Keitel Porsche has not yet received an answer.

It is not known if athletes from the two countries will compete in semi-ad hoc classes during the Belgrade Olympics. A former Paralympian, Legudmila Fuchuk of Belarus finished fifth when Birgit Skarsten won gold at the Tokyo PL.

– We’re so excited. I’d like to believe they’re participating, Skarstein tells VG.

– This is a big problem. At the same time, I have a lot of sympathy for the innocent athletes in the whole thing. I’m sorry on behalf of the neutral sports pitch, Skarsten continues.

Russia uses sports as a propaganda tool. It goes against the values ​​of the sport. Birgit Skarsten says that Russia fought a war of aggression three times during the Olympic Peace. She believes that “Russians use sports as a social force for their death message.”

She has competed against Ukraine’s Anna Sheremetye for several seasons.

– I feel so sorry for her. I trained mostly in Türkiye and France during the war. The rowing facility outside Kiev was bombed by the Russians. They had a really tough time, Skarsten says.

– They had to withdraw from their families in order to train, she says.

The World Rowing Championships will be held in Belgrade from 3 to 10 September.