Pavel Kulizhnikov reacted on Sunday to the statements of Kjeld Nuis, who strongly criticized the Russian skaters after they had withdrawn from the World Cup sprint in Hamar. According to Kulizhnikov, the accusations of Nuis are unjustified.
“I hope that next time Kjeld will have the courage not only to comment on Russian athletes, but also to acknowledge his own failures,” Kulizhnikov told the Russian news agency Ria Novosti. “I would like to congratulate him on his seventh place at the World Sprint Championship.”
Nuis said, among other things, that Kulizhnikov and his compatriots should be deeply ashamed because they withdrew from the tournament after one day. The Dutchman doubted whether the reason for the cancellation – the skaters would not be fit – was really true.
“I apologized to my fans and to the press,” continued Kulizhnikov, currently the best sprinter in the world. “In addition, I explained what my cancellation was due to: my physical condition. I am not interested in the opinion of Kjeld Nuis.”
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Kjeld Nuis and Pavel Kulizhnikov on the podium after the 1,000 meters at the World Championship distances in Salt Lake City. (Photo: Pro Shots)
“I kept my mouth shut”
At the end of last year Nuis had to let the Dutch Championship distances go due to the flu. Despite his absence, the thirty-year-old from Leiden received an indication for the World Cup in the 1,000 and 1,500 meters.
“When he did not participate in the Dutch championship, I also kept my mouth shut,” said Kulizhnikov, who, among others, defeated Nuis at his 1,000-meter world title in Salt Lake City.
“I kept concentrating on myself and partly because of that I defeated him in Salt Lake City, even though I had a serious shoulder injury. I prefer to fight this kind of thing with my rivals on the ice.”
Nuis finished on Saturday in Hamar at the World sprint disappointingly seventh. The gold went to the Japanese Tatsuya Shinhama. Kai Verbij was the best Dutchman in fourth place.
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