MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. There was a warm atmosphere at the PyeongChang Olympics and everyone treated Russian athletes nicely, skier Yulia Belorukova, who won two bronze medals at the Games, said at a welcoming ceremony for athletes arriving from South Korea, held at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.
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"I felt the support of our fans, there were lots of messages on my social media, I received tonnes of texts and even letters - really a huge number of congratulatory messages," she said. "It was really cool to compete at the Games, the atmosphere was warm and I cannot say it was very difficult. We had been told that some may show a negative attitude towards us but it was nothing like that - everyone treated us nicely," the skier added.
Belorukova won bronze medals in the women’s sprint classic and 4x5 kilometer relay.
"We have competed at the Olympics, won medals, and now we will take part in the World Cup. We will have only a few days to rest," Belorukova noted.
On December 5, 2017, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee over alleged violations of anti-doping rules, particularly during the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Russia’s team was banned from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang. At the same time, the IOC invited a total of 168 clean Russian athletes to participate in the Games as "Olympic Athletes of Russia."
Olympic Athletes from Russia won a total of 17 medals, including two golds, six silvers and nine bronzes.