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Photo: Pontus Orre / Aftonbladet / TT
Is it possible even to celebrate an Olympic medal that is sent home ten years later, as a pandemic rages?
Of course it works.
– We must have large screens so that we can see ourselves dancing, says Björn Ferry.
The Swedish biathlon masters scored four in the Olympic relay in 2010 and the World Cup relay in 2011. But the Russians’ finalist was doped and seeks to eliminate his results from that period.
Yevgeny Ustyugov has one last chance to appeal Cas’s verdict, but there are many indications that a ton of bronze medals will be sent to Storuman, Örnsköldsvik and a couple of other Swedish cities this winter.
Photo: ANDERS WIKLUND / TT
But how do you relate to retroactive medals? Should they just get into the price cabinet, or is it possible to resurrect old feelings and get out of the cheers ordered a decade earlier?
“I always felt cheated …”
– Yes, we will celebrate. I spoke with Nisse (Mattias Nilsson, third place in the Olympics) and Wolfgang (Pichler, captain of the national team). We said it had to be a party, says Björn Ferry.
How will that happen?
– If the verdict is ready during the crown, there will be a skype party. Carl Johan (Bergman) has to figure out the technology so we can dance. We look for old olympic suits and then we drive.
All of them?
– Wolfgang is not very good at technology but if he recovers he must be involved.
Photograph: NISSE SCHMIDT / TT
The Swedish relay team at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the new bronze medalists: Fredrik Lindström, Björn Ferry, Mattias Nilsson and Carl-Johan Bergman.
Because it is important?
– Because this will be what we do. Look at the skull-burying Sami that they obtain from various research institutes. It is their way of saying goodbye. We’ve always felt like we’ve been fooled with some medals, so it just feels right to get them now. It would be weirder to just take the medal and put it away.
“He stole my silver table!”
Are you mad at Ustyugov?
– I’ve been extremely frustrated with cheaters. Of course it starts to settle after ten years and I have had other successes that I can think of. But I suffer with the one who turned four once in his career, who was so close but never made a dollar. Nobody remembers that he was in the Olympics or the World Cup, but he actually won a medal.
How did Yevgeny Ustyugov behave during this period? Did you look at it suspiciously?
– It was not nice. You cannot see a scammer as a scoundrel. So he’s not a good fraudster. You know how it always is, “that salesman seemed so credible before he stole my money from the table.” Myllylä and Kirvesniemi were also very nice.
Well then?
– Yes. Cuts. He said hello and thank you and congratulations. It was a happy point. You get a picture of mysterious men in black coats sneaking around with their bags. Ustjugov was not like that. You seem much more suspicious than Ustyugov.
If the verdict stands, will the Russians publish their medals or will new ones be printed?
– Probably the old medals. Vancouver’s Olympic medals are unique, so you should try to claim them. They are not normally thrown away, so they should be somewhere.
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