"We need to become the best in Russia first, and then think about the Olympics"

Next week, Russian skiers will resume their season with the fourth round of the Russian Cup in the village of Mirny near Kazan. It will be their first official start in 2025. Among the participants is the 2022 Olympic champion in relay Tatyana Sorina.

In an interview with Izvestia, she assessed her results in the season, spoke about the condition of the main star of Russian skiing, Olympic champion and 2022 World Cup winner Natalya Terentyeva, and also expressed her hope to qualify for the next Olympics-2026 in Italy.

- How do you evaluate your performance in the current season?

- I don't evaluate it very well. I haven't had my form as such yet - I'm gradually recovering after the illness. That's why I haven't had any good starts this season.

- Natalia Terentyeva has returned after missing the season due to maternity leave. How much time has she had to regain her form?

- She did well - she came back very quickly. And she shows quite good results. We will see how she will improve from now on. We still have races in the Russian Cup ahead of us, and Natalya can do even better there.

- Is it possible to compete with her when she is in her optimum form?

- I think so. It's not just about me, for example. There are also interesting youngsters who are gradually improving and are backing up all of us, the leaders. The competition is quite serious now.

- How competitive will our skiers and skiers be in the international arena if the bans are lifted tomorrow?

- It's hard to answer, as we don't run together with foreign skiers. It's hard to compare ourselves with them. I watch World Cup stages from time to time, but it's hard to assess how much stronger the competitors are than us, because we don't compete in these events.

- Are you following the situation with other sports, whose Russian representatives started to be allowed to participate in international competitions in a neutral status at the end of last year? Do you expect skiers to be admitted soon after swimmers, figure skaters and speed skaters?

- I don't know. After all, these are all different sports, they are different from ours. Of course, I am happy for the other athletes that they again got the opportunity to compete in international competitions. Whether we should expect the same in the near future, it's hard for me to say. But I hope that soon we will be allowed to participate in international competitions.

- Do you still believe that you can still go to the Olympics in Italy in a year?

- Yes, of course, I still hope that we will go there. I believe in it. That's why I and the other girls and the guys are doing everything to perform our best now, to keep our form, to start showing our competitiveness in the international arena as soon as possible after the admission.

- How do you find motivation to continue to perform during the ban? Are the competitions you have enough to make you keep training like before?

- For me personally, it is enough. Because the competition in Russia has grown. And you need to become the best in your country to start thinking about the Olympics. It's clear that you can't always get your best form. Especially after 2022, I missed one season after going on maternity leave. Last year I missed half a season due to injury. I didn't have many races, I didn't manage to run the whole season - my health didn't allow me. This season is also not going the way I wanted it to - its start has turned out to be blurred. And all this motivates me to continue to perform, to prove that you are the best. And I hope to make up for it in the rest of the season and perform much better. And there I want to be allowed to the Olympics and perform successfully there. I will do my best for that.