Italian experiment: Bolshunov gathered all Scandinavian media for amateur race

Our skiers are actively preparing for the Russian Championships in Kazan, which will be held from March 1 to 9. Some are preparing at home and some abroad. Savely Korostelev, Daria Nepryayeva and Sergei Volkov have already completed their training camp in Italy and joined their colleagues in Armenia, while Alexander Bolshunov has gone the furthest. San Sanych not only decided to train in Europe until February 20, but also wanted to try his luck in his first international start since 2022. The three-time Olympic champion took part in the 30-kilometer Sudtirol Moonlight Classic marathon, a traditional commercial race in South Tyrol that takes place at night under artificial light. It turned out to be unusual and super successful.

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How did Bolshunov manage to break into the international start? It's simple. These competitions are not held under the auspices of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). Anyone can apply for them, regardless of gender and nationality - you just need to pay a fee of €70. Russian skiers have already participated in such events under the flag of their country. So Bolshunov could not prevent him from running the race during his training camp, which he just holds in a place called Seizer Alm.

The last time San Sanych ran in Europe was on February 27, 2022 in Lahti, when he came fifth in the 15km classic style race at the World Cup. Before that, there was an incredible triumph at the Beijing Olympics. And although the Sudtirol Moonlight Classic could hardly be considered seriously from a sporting point of view, it was a great option as one of the stages of preparation.

However, just before the start there was an unpleasant incident: the organizers removed the Russian flag opposite Alexander's name from the protocol. San Sanych was not upset by this situation, or maybe he didn't see it at all.

As for the race itself, Alexander started under the second serial number and almost immediately climbed into the leading group, where he had been competing with the Italians for a long time. Lorenzo Buzin stayed close to Bolshunov for the longest time, but eventually fell 14.4 seconds behind.

San Sanych won a confident victory, taking the prize money of €2 thousand. And hardly anyone was surprised by this result. It was impossible to imagine that he would lose in an amateur marathon in which the 42-year-old double Olympic champion Justyna Kowalczyk, who ended her career a long time ago, was number one.

- The race was not easy," NRK quoted Bolshunov as saying. - It's hard when you can't compete with the best in the world. Because of this, my level drops a bit. Can my performance be called the first step towards the return of Russian athletes to international competitions? We'll see. I hope that things will only get better in the future. Now the most important thing is that we got into this race. We got permission from Donald Trump himself. All athletes of my level are now at the World Cup. Do I miss Klebo? Let him miss it.

The three-time Olympic champion also answered the question whether he will take part in the 2026 Olympics in Italy.

- We'll live - we'll see, - quotes the skier's answer VG.

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Both before and after the finish, San Sanych was in a good mood and cheerfully communicated with the Scandinavian media, many of whom sent their correspondents to South Tyrol solely for the sake of the Russian superstar. When talking to foreign journalists, Bolshunov looked relaxed and ready to talk about any topic. If it were not for the political action that Lorenzo Busin and his Swedish girlfriend Malin Berjesche organized at the awarding ceremony (they came to the podium with Ukrainian flags), it would be possible to consider that the unplanned prostartovka fully justified itself.

However, this action had no consequences. Bolshunov congratulated Lorenzo on a successful race, and Lorenzo did the same in response. After that they did not talk anymore. Busin stressed that he was quite satisfied with the decision of the organizers to deprive Alexander of the flag and the Italian marathoner has no personal claims to the champion from Russia. Actually, this is what we wanted to understand as a result of the experiment, which our most titled skier unexpectedly arranged in Italy. Of course, there is experience in other sports, where the return of our athletes also goes practically without excesses. However, in ski racing, where the Scandinavians, pumped up by their own media against our country, have strong positions, there were fears.

- This race was important for everyone," said Yuri Borodavko, Bolshunov's mentor, in a conversation with Izvestia. - Sasha tested his strength in the race before the start of the World Cup, and the organizers got a huge stir around their race. It had never been talked about so much before, the race was broadcast in many countries. After that, he was offered to hold two more similar races in Italy, but I'm not sure it's advisable.

Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev said that in his opinion Bolshunov's success will be an important step towards the return of Russian athletes to the international arena.