Olympic champion Vic Wild on life in Russia, sports & borsch

American snowboarder Vic Wild had dreamed of performing at the Olympic Games since he was a little boy, but training and equipment required a lot of money, which his family didn’t have. His dream did come true, however Vic didn’t perform for the United States, but for… Russia! The athlete received Russian citizenship in 2012, thanks to his future wife, Russian snowboarder Alena Zavarzina. Together, they competed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where Vic won two gold medals. He also went on to win a bronze medal at the games in Beijing in 2022.

Vic with Alyona Zavarzina, Sochi Olympic bronze medalist

Like most Russian athletes, Vic has had a difficult time in recent years: international doping scandals, suspension from international competitions due to geopolitics mixing with sport… But, the snowboarder is seriously thinking about participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

‘There's a borsch waiting for me at home & it’s wow!’

Vic now lives in St. Petersburg and is actively learning Russian. “My teacher says that I have to speak Russian a lot: practice, practice, practice. So, today I will answer questions in Russian!”

Vic and Alena broke up, but the athlete found another Russian girl and is happy that she cooks him borsch. 

Vic Wild

“People in the U.S., girls especially, are buried in psychology today: they are constantly thinking about themselves, about all their problems,” Vic says. “In Russia, we talk about it less. And, I see one way out for me: you have to look not back, but forward – and develop.”

First impressions of Russia

When Vic first came to Russia, all he knew was that it was the largest country in the world with many historical complexities and dramas. “When first in St. Petersburg, I went to museums: the Hermitage, the Yusupov Palace. And, you know, looking at the amount of wealth there, I realized why you had a revolution. When some people live so luxuriously and others are at the bottom, sooner or later, it's going to explode.”

The athlete later traveled a lot around Russia, visiting many cities and seeing how different everything is, from the infrastructure to the language, traditions and customs. “Sometimes, it’s hard to believe it’s the same country, everything is so different in different regions,” he says.

From a small American town to a Russian metropolis

When Vic first arrived in Moscow, he lived on a friend’s mattress and was under constant stress: crowds of people, the metro, traffic jams, everyone in a hurry… “I'm from the small town of White Salmon, Washington State. Two and a half thousand people live there and everything is clear there, while Moscow is a huge megalopolis, in which I hardly understand anything!”  

Wild's winning ride in Sochi

But Vic had a goal and he knew that if he went through these challenges in the new country, he would have a chance to become an Olympic champion. Vic’s decision to go to Russia came as a surprise to his parents, but they said: "Go for it, good luck!"

“In the U.S., everyone is very friendly at once, but here, you have to get close to a person first before they open up. But, over time, I made friends, we started talking about the rules of life in Russia, about traditions. And it became clearer to me how things work here. I started to try something myself: on Epiphany before the Sochi Olympics, I took a dip in an ice-hole – and I loved it!”

From a big house to a Soviet apartment

“I’m from the countryside, we have a big house in the U.S., lots of space. But here, it’s a small apartment and I can’t get used to living like this. I have a lot of equipment for snowboarding and sports and I don’t know where to put it,” Vic admits.

Vic Wild with his bronze medal from the 2022 Beijing Olympics

“Soviet ‘grandmother’ apartments likeare sometimes cozy, but I don’t have much space in them. If I see a lot of stuff, I get nervous. At home, I have almost nothing: there is only a bed, a picture and a book in the bedroom.”

The athlete didn’t want to live in Moscow, so he chose St. Petersburg, because of its beauty and lots of friends who lived there. 

Vic doesn’t snowboard in St. Petersburg, he goes to the Urals to train instead, usually at the Bannoe ski resort and near the Miass settlement.

How Russia changed Vic’s life

“I arrived quite young, at the age of 25. And now I am already 37. I have been through a lot, both good and not so good. But, I have become a man. And, today, I am better and stronger than I was.” 

Vic Wild in St. Petersburg, 2023

Vic admits that these are not the easiest times for him. He hasn’t found a job in Russian sport yet. And, despite all the suspensions of athletes, Vic hopes that he will still be able to go to the next Olympics and will be able to win Olympic gold again.

The full version of this article was originally published in Russian in The Nation magazine.