MINSK, 16 March (BelTA) – Natalya Eismont, Press Secretary of the Belarus President, commented on media reports that alleged that one of participants of the Minsk Ski Track relay fell several times on purpose so that the head of state would be able to overtake him. She called such allegations a fake and added that the president does not accept when someone makes losing moves, RIA Novosti reports.
Earlier, the Pool Pervogo Telegram channel published a video showing a skier falling several times in a row next to the president who is skiing on the track. Some Internet users said that the man fell on purpose so that Aleksandr Lukashenko would be able to overtake him. The Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper wrote that Lukashenko's rival fell three times on purpose and, lying in the snow, pretended that he could not get up, so as not to outflank the Belarusian president. The newspaper called the situation absurd.
“What losing moves can there be when there are thousands of spectators on the stands? This is impossible in our country, and the organizers know it very well. The president is very tough about that, one can lose their job for it,” Natalya Eismont said.
She asked a rhetorical question what is really absurd - the episode on the video or the way some journalists present it. “What is really absurd? It is when journalists write about losing moves at the finish line while the footage shows that the president is already wearing a medal on his chest! It is weird, but common sense did not help the authors of the article understand that by that time Aleksandr Lukashenko had already made a speech, his team had won, the award ceremony had taken place, and the head of state had even managed to talk to the media,” the press secretary emphasized.
According to her, the footage shows “a completely different race, a race of beginners”. “This, for comparison, is like the world championship and the IBU Cup. The president remained on the track just to support fledgling skiers from the second race at the finish line. And, again, in order to get the whole picture, the authors could have found and compared the schedules of the races, their line-ups, including the composition of the president's team. However, of course, no one did this, and it turned out to be another gross fake,” Natalya Eismont emphasized.
According to her, if necessary, the press service can provide these schedules “to all amateurs who want to make detailed analyses of sports competitions with the participation of the president of Belarus.”
“And most importantly: why so much attention? The Minsk Ski Track event has been held since 1986, and all of a sudden your colleagues got so interested and concerned about it?” the press secretary added.
