The Russian bobsleigh and skeleton national teams will not be boycotting the 2017 World Championships, which will be relocated from the 2014 Olympic host city of Sochi, according to Alexander Zubkov, the president of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation.
“I give you a 100 percent guarantee that we will not be boycotting the bobsleigh and skeleton world championship, which will not be held in our country,” Zubkov told the TASS news agency. “We will come and prove that we are able to fight at any championship. We will also prove that we are the world leaders and will be fighting for medals.”
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) announced on Tuesday its decision to relocate the 2017 World Championships from Sochi to another venue, which would be determined by the end of the week. The decision was made in light of numerous allegations on doping abuse and manipulations in Russian sport.
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.