Olympic champion Tikhonov called the Norwegians frostbitten misers
The former head of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU), four-time Olympic champion Alexander Tikhonov, in a conversation with RIA Novosti, reacted sharply to the position of the Norwegian authorities regarding the admission of Russian athletes. He called the country's representatives stingy and inhospitable people.
The reason for the criticism was the appeal of the Mayor of Oslo, Anne Lindbu. She appealed to the Norwegian government with a demand to introduce visa restrictions for Russian skiers. The mayor of the city intends to prevent athletes from participating in the World Cup stage, which will be held in Holmenkollen on March 13-14.
"They are frostbitten misers. I do not know more inhospitable people, more profascist people. They were liberating the land. The land of these frostbitten freaks, watered with the blood of our soldiers. I would remove them from everywhere," Tikhonov said.
The Olympic champion added that he treats the Norwegians negatively and considers it necessary to exclude them from international competitions so that they "compete at home." As a negative example of governance in sports, he mentioned the former president of the International Biathlon Federation (IBU), Anders Besseberg, who is serving a prison sentence.
In October, it became known that the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) had relaxed the criteria for Russian athletes, which gives reason to expect approval of applications from other representatives of the national team. The Russian noted that last season he had already received permission to perform from the international federation.
On September 24, the international organization updated the rules for obtaining neutral status for the 2026/27 season, relaxing the requirements for athletes from Russia and Belarus to communicate with army structures.
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