‘They’ve Robbed Us of Our Moment of Glory’: Norway’s Curlers Want Their Own Medal Ceremony After Russian Doping Allegations

The Norwegian curlers who came in fourth at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games have described how they feel “robbed of their moment of glory,” following the doping charges against the Russian curling team who won bronze.

Norway’s team, Magnus Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien, are asking the Winter Games organizers to hold a new medals ceremony before the Games end on Sunday, should the Russians be stripped of their bronze medal, according to reporting by The Guardian.

On Monday, Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky, who finished third in the mixed doubles with his wife, Anastasia Bryzgalova, was charged after testing positive for meldonium.

In an interview with The Guardian, Nedregotten described how the “horrible” revelation had been “hard to accept.”

“Knowing that they may have had an advantage against us in our games through cheating feels horrible,” he said. “If he is found guilty, then they’ve robbed us of our moment of glory, receiving our medal in the stadium. That’s not cool. That’s hard to accept, feeling that you’ve been kept out of the light.

“Obviously he is not guilty before he is convicted. But it is confirmed, the preferred option for us would be to receive the bronze medal at some point during the remainder of the Olympics,” he added.

He also stressed the difference meldonium can make regarding stamina and concentration, following some scepticism about the affect of performance-enhancing drugs on curling.

“It’s quite hard for a male sweeper in mixed doubles. You have to follow and sweep every rock, and your muscles actually get quite sore and torn with all the work during that tight playing schedule,” he said.

“It especially could have benefited the Russians as they had a really late game when they lost their semi-final, and then they were playing early the next morning against us in the bronze match,” he added.