"It's not as simple as we thought on February 25, 2022," pro-Putin Elena Vyalbe's epiphany

Elena Vyalbe, a three-time Olympic champion and representative of a non-country called "Russia," who is known for her support of Russia's war against Ukraine, does not believe that the global "ban" on Russian sports will be lifted in the near future.

"Of course, we lose more from this suspension. First of all, it is difficult for every athlete to find the strength not to slowly start giving up. Certainly every athlete trains to perform on the world stage. Without any real competition.

There will be competition for one more year. But do you think that everything will be over in one year?

I don't think about when it will end. I want, like everyone wants it to be over as soon as possible. That's understandable. But it's not as simple as we thought it would be on February 25 of last year. Back then, I think everyone had rose-colored glasses. Now they're off. Everyone understands that it's not as easy as we would have liked it to be. Although we didn't want it to be at all.

I don't think the world will be the same as it was. But I don't really believe that there will be some kind of awful aggression or boycott, when no one is talking or shaking hands with anyone. And maybe, on the contrary, everybody will ask us to come back and apologize to us," Vyalbe said. "Sport-Express.".