Olympic champion Bolshunov apologized for pushing skier Bakurov after the race

Three-time Olympic champion in cross-country skiing Alexander Bolshunov expressed regret about the incident at the finish of the race of the Cup of Russia, when he pushed athlete Alexander Bakurov. In a video message on December 2, he apologized and explained the situation.

Bolshunov noted that he had heard insults from Bakurov, however, pushing his opponent, he had no intention of physically injuring him.

"I regret the incident at the finish of the Russian Cup stage and I think I did the wrong thing by pushing my opponent with my shoulder. You will not see such behavior from me in the future. <...> In this situation, it was necessary to finish and calmly talk to the judges and, perhaps, later with the athletes, to listen to why he did this at the distance. No insults that were directed at me from Bakurov," the video on the skier's Telegram channel says.

The skier noted that he wanted to drive up to Bakurov and talk to him about the incidents that occurred on the track when he was deliberately prevented from moving forward, she pointed out."Газета.Ru ".

"The emotional approach to the athlete turned out to be fast. I won't allow myself to do that in the future, and I advise other athletes not to," he added.

The incident involving Bolshunov and Bakurov will be reviewed by the Presidium of the Russian Ski Racing Federation.

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Bolshunov failed to reach the sprint finals at the Russian Cup of Cross-country Skiing on October 29. He finished last in the semifinals of the freestyle sprint at the first stage of the Cup of Russia after falling at the final turn in a fight with skier Bakurov.

Bakurov also reported on the consequences of the incident when, at the end of the race, he was pushed by an opponent. Bolshunov approached Bakurov and hit him in the back with his elbow, for which he was disqualified. Bakurov will miss the next stage of the Russian Cup due to a soft tissue injury.

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