Bjorndalen appreciated Shipulin's decision not to return the Olympic Games gold medal to Sochi

On February 15, Norwegian biathlete and eight-time Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen commented on the decision of Russian Anton Shipulin not to return the gold medal of the Olympic Games in Sochi, saying that he would not respect him less because of this.

Earlier in the day, Shipulin stated that he did not intend to return the Olympic gold medal to Russia, despite demands from the International Biathlon Union (IBU).

"Anton Shipulin is my good friend. I have many wonderful memories with him. It's his decision. Norwegian culture, German or Russian culture are different. What is right for some may be wrong for others. I won't respect Shipulin any less if he doesn't return this medal," Sports quoted Bjoerndalen as saying.

The biathlete added that if he were in the Russian's place, he would return the medal, since it is a team medal, not a personal one.

On February 15, the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo hosted an award ceremony for biathletes, in whose favor medals from the 2010 and 2014 Olympics were redistributed after the disqualification of Russian biathlete Evgeny Ustyugov. For the relay race at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, gold was awarded to the German national team, silver to the Austrians, and bronze to the Norwegian athletes.

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