American snowboarder Vic Wild intends to acquire Russian citizenship

Leonid Melnikov, vice-president of the Federation of Skiing and Snowboarding of Russia, stated that the United States’ snowboarder Vic Wild, who is married to Russian snowboarder Alena Zavarzina, expressed his intention to join the Russian national team.

«If it wasn’t for Zavarzina’s marriage we wouldn’t take the initiative. Vic really wants to join the Russian national team. We are getting all the necessary documents ready at the moment, but it’s difficult to say how long it will take.

«Of course, we’re interested in this athlete: it would be good to have a competition in our team. I’d like to point out that he has already started learning Russian. I guess the issue of Vic’s citizenship will be solved before the New Year at best,» Sport-Express quoted Melnikov as saying.

Wild’s wife Zavarzina had earlier stated that Wild intends to get Russian citizenship.