Shipulin declared his readiness to give medals for the sake of the Russian national team's performance

Former Russian biathlete Anton Shipulin, who is now a State Duma deputy, said on February 16 that he was ready to give up his medals so that Russian athletes would be allowed to perform with the flag and anthem of the Russian Federation, and not in a neutral status.

"If in order for the International Olympic Committee [IOC] and international federations to adhere to this principle again, return the flag and anthem to our athletes, stop humiliating them with a 'neutral status,' we need to return the medals, I am ready to give all my medals," Shipulin wrote on the VKontakte social network.

He added that he had previously been accused of personally refusing to return the gold medal of the 2014 Olympic Games, which were held in Sochi.

Shipulin recalled that the suspension of Russian athletes violates the main rule of the Olympic Games — "Sports outside politics."

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