Russian athletes are looking for ways to participate in international competitions where they are not allowed or allowed with restrictions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. According to Novaya Gazeta, 17 athletes have already decided to represent other countries. Some already had a second passport.
The 12th world champion, chess player Alexandra Kosteniuk, was already a holder of a Swiss passport, as she was married to a citizen of this country. As grandmaster Sergei Karyakin noted, "we have no equal replacement for Kosteniuk." The husband of the short track skater Sofya Prosvirnova is the Danish speed skater Viktor Hald Torup, Novaya writes. Prosvirnova took part in two Olympics, she is a five-time European champion, two-time silver and bronze medalist of planetary championships. She herself notes that the decision to change the country at the competition “was not easy for her, but this is the only right way out in the current realities … I will never stop being Russian,” Prosvirnova said.
Yakut woman Sardana Trofimova "turned" into a Kyrgyz woman. 30-year-old wrestler Dauren Kurugliev is already winning victories for Greece. The head of the ROC, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, believes that such transitions are unfair and that the athletes who left should perform under neutral symbols, like those who remain in Russia.
“We believe that approaches to all athletes in the world should be equivalent. Accordingly, the conditions under which our athletes will compete should apply to athletes who have changed sports citizenship. If there is a proposal that the Russians will perform with national symbols without any restrictions, of course, the ROC will meet all those who have decided to compete for other countries. Otherwise, we will demand the application of a neutral status, as well as other possible restrictions that will apply to members of the Russian team.”