Former biathletes about doping in biathlon. Rodchenkov spoke about Russian doping traditions in biathlon and cross-country skiing. No advocacy

There has been an extremely unhealthy atmosphere in world sports recently. The passion surrounding the so-called “McLaren report,” which brought charges against dozens of leading Russian athletes for doping and other violations of the rules, has led to the fact that athletes from other countries feel entitled to make statements about Russians that border on rudeness.

French biathlete Aristide Begu reacted extremely painfully to the defeat from the Russian Alexandra Loginova at the next stage of the IBU Cup in the Italian city of Martella.

“Losing to the strongest - yes! Losing to a cheater is a no-no!” - on Twitter.

At the stage in Martell, Loginov won the sprint and pursuit, and Begu took 8th and 6th places in these races, respectively.

The IBU Cup is, figuratively speaking, the second division of world biathlon. This tournament involves athletes who, based on their results, do not qualify for the main roster of national teams competing in the World Cup.

22-year-old Aristide Begu in December 2016 won the pursuit race at the IBU Cup stage in Ridnow, Italy. After this, the athlete was included in the French national team for the World Cup in Nove Mesto, but Begu did not manage to prove himself successfully, and he returned to performances in the IBU Cup.

Alexander Loginov: the fall of Russian hope

However, Begu now has a new competitor - 24-year-old Russian Alexander Loginov. Or rather, the competitor is old, but temporarily absent.

Loginov was considered one of the most talented young biathletes in Russia. He is a four-time world junior champion and a five-time European junior champion. Loginov made his debut as part of the main Russian national team in 2013, in December of the same year he won a victory as part of the Russian national team in the relay race at the World Cup stage. Loginov was part of the Russian team at the 2014 Olympics, but did not shine, but at the World Cup stages after the Games he twice became second - in the sprint in Kontiolahti and in the pursuit in Homenkollen.

Alexander Loginov (Russia) at the training session of the Russian biathlon team before the start of the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Photo: RIA Novosti / Ilya Pitalev

The fairy tale ended when the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) received information from the IBU about the suspicious result of a doping test taken from an athlete out of competition on November 26, 2013. In November 2014, the IBU decided to re-analyze suspected doping samples based on new methods. Five of these samples gave a positive result, including the Loginov sample taken in November 2013. The International Biathlon Union (IBU) informed the SBR that a prohibited drug, recombinant erythropoietin, was detected in the athlete’s sample.

The Anti-Doping Committee decided to disqualify the suspended Alexander Loginov for two years from the moment of re-analysis of the sample, which gave a positive result.

On July 10, 2015, by decision of the IBU, Loginov was disqualified until November 25, 2016. All results of the athlete, starting from the moment the sample was taken in November 2013, are invalid.

The Russian “served his time”, but the biathlon stars demand that he be punished for life

It so happened that while the passions around the Russians were gaining momentum, Loginov was serving his sentence, which ended just at the end of 2016. That is, at the moment when the question arose about the possible disqualification of the Russian biathlon team in its entirety.

Even in Russia there were many sports journalists who felt that Loginov’s return to the Russian national team was unethical. What can we say about representatives of other countries!

One of the world's leading biathletes Johannes Be stated that Loginov should be disqualified for life. In an interview with Norwegian media, Boe said that he “doesn’t want to see Loginov at the World Cup anymore.”

Should we then be surprised at the statements of Aristide Begu?

The situation, frankly speaking, is not pretty. On the one hand, the anger of athletes who consider themselves “clean” from doping is understandable. On the other hand, Loginov, as they say, “served for his time,” and double punishment for the same sin is considered nonsense by lawyers all over the world.

Not only Be, but also senior comrade Aristide Begu, the leader of the World Cup, took up arms against Loginov Martin Fourcade. Back in mid-December 2016, he wrote on social networks about his dissatisfaction with the fact that an athlete who was caught doping two years ago was competing at the IBU Cup.

Fourcade has many fans in Russia, who then responded to their idol in unflattering terms. So much so that Fourcade himself decided to explain himself to them in a special address. “Unfortunately, one Russian athlete who competed today at the IBU Cup was caught for doping (EPO) only 2 years ago. I sincerely believe that the managers and coaches of the Russian Biathlon Federation are sending the wrong signal by allowing him to compete again at this problematic time. My intolerance for doping has never been and never will be focused on Russia. I took the same position in relation to the doping scandals that occurred in Germany, Norway, Ukraine, Lithuania and also in France,” Fourcade explained.

“I don’t trust anyone on this team anymore”

Extremely harsh statements are made not only against Loginov. The wave raised by the “McLaren report,” in which the names of about three dozen Russian biathletes appear, made, for example, a previously very modest Czech woman talkative Gabriela Koukalova.

“I don’t trust anyone in this team anymore, sorry,” said the athlete, speaking about the Russian team in an interview with the Championship.com portal. — When people and teams do not respect international anti-doping rules, they should not compete with us. It’s difficult for me to explain this in English, but we should also be talking about a team in which too many athletes were caught doping.” At the same time, the biathlete honestly admitted that she did not know which specific Russian athletes took doping and whether there was evidence of their guilt.

As you can see, bullying Russians is in vogue these days, and is it worth blaming the young Frenchman Begu for succumbing to the general mood.

Only one thing is unclear - what should Alexander Loginov do? Voluntarily give up biathlon? Go to a monastery? Bequeathing the last victories to the frustrated Aristide Begu? Indeed, at the moment, having served his sentence, the athlete started everything from scratch, and there are no doubts about the honesty of his current victories, at least for now. Even if a measure such as a lifelong ban from biathlon for the first violation of anti-doping rules is now introduced, it cannot apply to Loginov, since the law does not have retroactive effect.

However, current times in sports are not a story about the law, but about the Inquisition. And everyone who is not too lazy is ready to try on the role of inquisitor in relation to Russians.

Today, at the IBU executive committee, the issue of Rossbiathlon’s membership in this International Organization is being decided. I would like to figure it out and understand who is to blame for this.

Option #1. WADA is to blame

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA, WorldAnti-DopingAgency is an independent organization that coordinates the fight against doping in sports, created with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). So, WADA only takes samples of athletes to test for doping and, in case of a positive result , reports to the relevant Federation to make a decision on this athlete. Only the Federation for the sport will disqualify.

Conclusion: WADA is not involved in the use of doping by Russian biathletes.

Option #2. The McLaren Commission is to blame

Let me remind you how it all started:

• In December 2014, the German TV channel ARD released a film about doping, in which Russian athlete Yulia Stepanova spoke about the substitution of doping tests in Russian athletics, and Liliya Shobukhova spoke about how she bribed ARAF functionaries to participate in the Olympic Games despite violations in the anti-doping blood passport.
• In November 2015, WADA accused Rodchenkov of destroying over 1,400 doping samples three days before testing, despite receiving a letter demanding WADA retain all samples.
• In February 2016, two former leaders of the RUSADA anti-doping agency, Vyacheslav Sinev and Nikita Kamaev, suddenly died, whose death was called “mysterious” and “strange” by some media outlets.
• On May 19, 2016, WADA announced that Professor Richard McLaren, a Canadian sports lawyer, had been invited as an independent person to lead a team to investigate the allegations against Grigory Rodchenkov.

Conclusion: McLaren and the members of his commission did not supply SBR doping and did not inject EPO into the biathletes.

Option #3. Athletes from other countries are to blame

Many athletes in advance, before the IBU decision, refused to go to the KM stage in Tyumen, the most famous of them are Koukalova and the entire Norwegian team.

Indeed, we can imagine anything we want about disabled athletes who easily bypass the “healthy” Shipulin and Glazyrina. However... there is one “BUT”: “Not caught, not a thief.” I can imagine how mononucleosis patient M. Fourcade giggles, talking about inhuman changes in his genes that help him win. Wiping their drool, the asthmatic norgs grin and refuse to go to doping-ridden Tyumen. They are clean before WADA and have the right to ooh and ahh about the “dishonest” Russians. But they weren’t the ones who supplied and injected...

Option number 4. It's your own fault

Let's remember how we all defended our athletes who were disqualified for doping. “Accident,” many shouted. And this is what it turned out to be. They simply stopped believing us!

It seems that after the incidents with Pylyova and Prokunin, everything became clear to everyone. It turns out not! Behind him is AYUYA, then Starykh and Loginov, and Yuryeva’s secondary “hit” is not going anywhere.

It turns out like in the joke: “The mice cried and injected themselves, but continued to eat the cactus.”

The patience of WADA, IBU and foreign athletes has run out. Wait for the changes, gentlemen!

Ask yourself the question “Who shot Rusbiathlon in the back”?

I HAVE A FEELING THAT Vada is fulfilling someone’s order and is more suitable for a person who increases his need and importance in preserving urine for decades. And who established the possibility of its preservation in test tubes that are in the hands of informants provocateurs. The head of the commission on doping tests represents a country that is not friendly to Russia. informant provocateur from the same place And the test tubes are stored and scratched in another unfriendly country. Moreover, the informant did the job in a criminal way. smuggling prohibited drugs across the customs borders of countries and deceivingly imposing supposedly harmless drugs on some athletes. This is not visible to the naked eye and there is no evidence. In my opinion, this informant provocateur should be criminally punished for distributing narcotic and psychotropic drugs. Other participants in the provocations deserve condemnation purely from a human point of view. They worked off the oil on bread. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't do this very often.

Justice Very intelligently written!
By the way, I’m surprised that there are athletes (like Fourcade and Koukalova) about whom Russian fans write badly and that supposedly “THEM” should be checked. but the Russians do NOT want to test 34-year-old Kaisa, the fastest in biathlon, for doping. Question: why?
By the way, the most common opinion of Russians is the following
“All the pros dope, but not all of them are caught” again the question: why is this opinion?

I don’t agree that politics doesn’t affect sports, for some reason lately only Russia has been criticized in all the mouthpieces, and if the Norwegians were found to have doping, then the disqualification is simply ridiculous, calculated in months, not years like ours

Nick Kuziansky

Manipulation of public opinion?
By international standards, your post is similar to: “Putin is to blame for everything... and save yourself, hybrid war.”))

Loktik, +100500

Of course, you don’t need to run ahead of the locomotive and not put labels on our athletes... We need to support them. It's not easy for them now. Both biathletes and skiers. But our functionaries, and all sorts of sports officials, seemed to know this whole situation long before it was now presented to us by international, so to speak, judges, in the person of McLaren, etc., etc. It was necessary to act proactively , and they just now went crazy. Maybe I'm wrong of course. But they will strangle us slowly and cut off our tail piece by piece right up to the Olympics. Although our sports officials may be acting in the right direction, we just don’t know about it yet. I really hope for it.

Justice,
“The West and the USA hate Russia and therefore suppress Russian sports for imaginary doping” - ridiculous nonsense.
In the same first paragraph.
Russia is not liked throughout the world - there are too many inadequate people there.

This is such justice, they don’t hate us, they just don’t love us, well, thank you... And immediately for the whole world.

Why write the names of biathletes? Why guess that it is this or that biathlete or biathlete? We all love biathlon and athletes (ok) who give us pleasure with their results. Today we raise them to heaven, and the next we “bury” them on social media. networks that they themselves, their loved ones, friends, acquaintances read, etc. Imagine what situation they are in now, they probably don’t even want to leave the house? Nothing is known for sure yet, but we have already JUDGED them. It is clear that the fault here is not with the biathletes, but with officials, coaches, and doctors. staff Dear Belarusians, I ask you to speak out on this topic, trying not to label it!

Dmitry, even if it’s Vilukhina: today she finished her career, and tomorrow she can resume it. The IBU acts formally, according to procedure.

Conspiracy theories on the topic “The West and the United States hate Russia and therefore suppress Russian sports for imaginary doping” are ridiculous nonsense. This opinion is held mainly by the so-called “hurray-patriots,” thereby satisfying the ChSV, as has already been rightly noted here. Like Mother Russia “gets up from her knees” and everyone, in fear, began to create all sorts of intrigues against this Russian powerhouse. Honestly, I don’t understand how reasonable people can talk like that. But it turns out that this point of view is quite common in Russia. Actually, this is one of the reasons that Russia is not loved throughout the world - there are too many inadequate people there. In recent years, I have associated only words with Russia: anger, hatred, aggression, rudeness, envy. And this opinion was formed not by “Western propaganda”, but by reading Russian forums and communicating with Russians.
If the West and the United States really wanted to hit Russian sports and all sorts of international sports organizations really obeyed the conditional Obama, then no one would come up with some childish reasons for this, such as the supposedly fake McLaren investigation. Russia would simply be taken and expelled from all international sports federations as part of sanctions for its aggressive policy towards neighboring states. After all, the USA and the EU have introduced a number of political and economic sanctions against Russia and continue to expand them without coming up with some nonsense like “our laboratories have shown that your potatoes have an increased concentration of nitrates,” although they easily could. But they don’t really need it. They clearly and specifically name the reasons for the sanctions - Crimea, Donbass. And they don’t care how Russia feels about this. It's the same with sports. Therefore, stop inflating the FER and seeing what is not there.

They also often say “well, yes, we consume doping, but only we are tested, and everyone else consumes doping legally.” Such reasoning leads to the fact that Russians develop the confidence that it is simply impossible to win without doping and the task of a modern athlete is to skillfully hide this doping. But since the initial premise is false, the resulting action chosen is incorrect. It's funny to read about the same Fourcade. Ask any local “writer” about Fourcade - he will immediately say that he is a mononucleosis-hemochromatosis on certificates. Well, at the same time, these same writers say: “we need a transparent doping control system, otherwise we don’t know what Fourcade is sick with and what he eats.” Somehow these two statements contradict each other. So do you know what Fourcade is sick with and what he takes for his illness or not? Well, the question is, of course, rhetorical. Nobody knows anything about Fourcade’s diseases, or whether he has any therapeutic exceptions at all. This applies, naturally, not only to Fourcade, but also to all other foreign athletes. And here there is no need to refer to any interviews of the athletes themselves, that someone there mentions mutated genes or symptoms of asthma. Athletes are not doctors and can make mistakes in terminology, and “writers” are already scribbling with might and main on the forums “oh, what a mononucleosis Fourcade is on the certificate.” It is worth noting that the “writers” themselves are far from being called sports medicine specialists. But the Internet is like this now - they read an article on Wikipedia and imagine themselves as super-specialists.
But still, here’s what I wanted to say about therapeutic exceptions. It is clear that therapeutic exemptions do not allow athletes to take drugs containing prohibited substances in ANY quantity. Doses allowed to be taken are sufficient to combat the disease AND NOT MORE. To suggest otherwise is the height of absurdity. This whole topic with TI arose after the “hacker revelations”. The jingoistic patriots rejoiced, they say they brought the swindlers to clean water. But in fact, they only further tarnished Russia’s already dismal reputation. All TUEs were received in accordance with the RULES. No one is stopping Russians from receiving these TIs, and I am more than sure that the percentage of such Russians is in no way less than in other countries. And the argument that the Russians will not be given these TIs does not work. They will. They even give it to Belarusians, as the head of the NOC of Belarus reported after those same “hacker revelations.” But the Russian colleague was somewhat embarrassed to voice information about whether Russian athletes have technical qualifications.

In general, the West and the United States are always presented as somehow consolidated against Russia. It’s as if these are not two hundred countries, but two - Russia and the West. But do you really think that the same Norwegians, Americans or Germans like the fact that Fourcade wins the World Cup in biathlon over and over again? Did the so-called “West” give the go-ahead for Domracheva to dope? Why doesn’t “anti-asthmatic doping” help the “homeland of asthmatics” - Norway - to raise a new Tura Berger? Why, in the end, did WADA catch “their own” - Sundby, Johaug - for doping? All these questions do not fit into the concept “There is the West and Russia - and they are fighting each other.”

Let me summarize. Politics does not influence sports decisions regarding violations of sports rules. If Russia wants to be integrated into the world community, it is necessary to follow the general RULES that everyone else follows. If Russia perceives the West and the United States exclusively as enemies, then why the hell do you need any international competitions at all? Why do you follow international biathlon, skiing, football, etc., etc. After all, “everyone is on doping” and “Russia is being squeezed.” It would be logical and consistent to INDEPENDENTLY withdraw from all international sports federations. But no, everyone strives to go to this hated Europe, some for sporting competitions, some for vacation, and some for permanent residence.

Laura, LES, that's what I'm saying - are they trying to ban participation in apartment races?
p. s. Well, if there are all “damaged phones” here, then what are we even discussing here?

Dmitry, is everything okay with your head?
"1. Take disciplinary action against two biathletes - temporary suspension from competition while the investigation is underway." (this is a quote from the IBU decision) and
“The names are not mentioned, presumably these athletes are involved in the Games in Sochi and are probably no longer active biathletes” (this is a postscript in the news from an unknown person) - written by two completely different people. The unknown person who wrote the postscript does not belong to the IBU, does not deal with suspensions from competitions, and, most likely, is a “damaged phone”. Either he messed something up, or some of the biathletes who ended their careers are still listed as active by the IBU.

Dmitry, purely theoretically. Vilukhina or any other retired biathlete probably skis, just like you. Tomorrow she will probably want to run at the city championship? - probably. And she would have gone for a run, but now they will tell her, “You are suspended.”

Laura, temporary suspension of non-active athletes? Well, is everything all right with their heads?
Or will they try to exclude them from apartment-scale competitions?

If they are not active, then they are definitely bastards who are digging under Mutko.

Dmitry, in the topic “Final decision of the IBU...” the site says:
“Take disciplinary action against two biathletes - temporary suspension from competitions for the period of investigation (names are not named, presumably these athletes are involved in the Games in Sochi and are probably no longer active biathletes).”
That’s why LES wrote “if Vilukhin...” Although, of course, “temporarily suspended” and “not active” do not fit with each other. Perhaps, indeed, some of our biathletes who have completed their careers are still on the IBU’s active list.

LES, do you understand the meaning of the word “suspend”?

Vlad, if we see “suspended” people at the January stages, then this will already be mega-level trolling!

People, don’t quarrel, we won’t see those “temporarily suspended” in the application for the January stages.))

LES, since you decided so, then it will be so.

Lyuda, is the current one running on the ski track right now? For the IBU and Vilukhin, she did not write a statement there with a request to consider her finished, and they themselves might not have guessed.

Dmitry, if Vilukhina, then two medals at once.

“SICK” with an extra chromosome Fourcade says a lot to cover up with a reference book. Yes, he's just taking revenge for Filled's loss in the War of 1812. Everyone is taking revenge on us for something. Everywhere is politicized.

Money and, accordingly, a greedy (as much as a hamster) craving for it “shot” in the back.

As always, the reason is show-off and money. Governors need prestige and money from the budget. Coaches and athletes also need money for results. That's why they use all the methods. For those caught doping, it is necessary to cut off financial support for the region and for which the athlete who committed the crime stands and to fine their coaches. Then the managers and coaches themselves will ensure that there is no doping.

Vlad, the question is not whether someone got through there and someone didn’t get through.
The question is that most likely those who ordered the adventure and the biathlon federation have disagreements. And perhaps even better - we have something to put pressure on the management of the IBU. And this already means good prospects.
p. s. What medal should Sochi take away from us?

Vlad, why Oberhof? Competitions are also held at KE. That is the whole circus of this “punishment”.

VM, but for us the athlete is not the main thing! It seems like you know about this?!)) My first coach ended up as a bricklayer - he worked at home!))

Those who will not be in the application to Oberhof are those 2.

Alex. Andr.,

Our state doesn’t even provide legal assistance to athletes, what the hell is a “state doping program”!

I'm wondering, where is the substantiated evidence? What kind of doping was found and from whom? And so their goal is to denigrate under any pretext. And that's it...

I tend to agree with Vlad's point of view.
Dmitry, before you fight anything outside, you need to defeat it within yourself. It is unrealistic to work on two fronts).

Who cares, the deprivation of international competitions (the World Cup stage in Tyumen and the Junior World Championships in Ostrov) is a “blank shot” for you, but a considerable penny for the organizers.
I'm not even talking about the two "Mr. (Mrs.) X." Because of which we may lose Sochi medals.
And the “other 29” weren’t chewing gingerbread...

Oh yes! You can already shout: “Hallelujah, it’s gone,” and continue to eat vitamins.

LES, I didn’t say that I would admit a violation of anti-doping rules and call on them to defend their positions. I believe that where we are accused of violating anti-doping rules, and if there is the slightest clue to refute it, then it must be legally used...

Looks like they shot with a blank

Chess player, how can one admit a violation of anti-doping rules in one post and call on him to defend his position. Positions on violation?

VM, how can we do without a government program? Our people love sports very much, and will blow their minds for it, but they don’t want to pay for it! Here, such a squiggle!))

Vlad,
The fact of the matter is that in all spheres of life that involve international contacts, we cannot relax there; we do not live in paradise, especially if the country does not bend, does not follow someone else’s lead, but pursues an independent policy.
But many of our officials still don’t see anything beyond their own navel and don’t monitor the country’s interests. And the country falls into a trap. Foreigners are cautious and push certificates ahead of them. Looking at the same Serena Williams, at her biomass, you understand that not everything is pure there. But they're covering it, so you can't dig into it. But it still seems to ours that they, too, will be able to agree on something, sir. And no one is interested in this today. I think those at the top shouted “atu” to WADA.

In the back? Beautiful))

So much for Guberniev’s tales, how Sukalova loves Russia; a normal person wouldn’t have such a surname.

Now we urgently need to create a tough defense in the form of a competent legal shield and defend our positions wherever possible. Vaughn Efimova says that there was no legal support from the state (and here Mutko must answer) in her case. Also, through all channels, it is necessary to inform the foreign public about the legal use of pharmaceuticals by foreign athletes, whether they have certificates, etc. If nothing is done now, then similar facts with doping will occur in other sports. Inside yourself, stop making plans from top to bottom to win a number of medals in any way at all levels of competition. It is because of this that our coaches, doctors, and athletes violate anti-doping rules.

As for the bold hypothesis that our bureaucrats did not think of issuing for our athletes the same TIs that Western champions use. Looks funny. At least some ray of light in the dark kingdom of SBR :))

Dmitry, I believe that these two processes - internal and external (relationships with THEM) should go in parallel.

I’m not ready to discuss the situation “like ours” in isolation from “like theirs”, because we are talking specifically about competitions WITH THEM

The LACK of a state doping program prevents Russians from competently issuing therapeutic exceptions for future athletes from the cradle, i.e. so that TUEs can be used as doping, systematically and within the framework of individual pharmacological programs.

Anton Pavlovich Chaika, I agree with you!

Konstantin, that makes sense.

WADA and the commission are just a tool; others pull the trigger. It is necessary to separate the violators, the athletes against whom sanctions are initiated by the IBU (and officials and employees should be dealt with by our law enforcement officers, this is not the business of foreign hypocrites) and the attempt to discredit the Russians (that’s right!) by linking the violators with the leadership of the country, whose political course has ceased to be I like it. The organization of competitions is a political level, for comparison: adding meldonium to the list of prohibited drugs is the level of economic interests, the use of prohibited drugs is a legal level.

MOSCOW, December 15 - R-Sport, Oleg Bogatov. The complete lack of control over the situation in biathlon on the part of the previous leadership and the Ministry of Sports led to the appearance of 31 Russian athletes suspected of violating anti-doping rules on the list of 31 Russian athletes, the ex-president of the Russian Biathlon Union (SBR), four-time Olympic champion, told the R-Sport agency .

“We have already stopped being surprised by anything,” Tikhonov said over the phone. “I think these are responses, probably from the previous team, most likely. I always had complete information and tried to convey it to the leadership of the federation, the ex-head of the RRF, Mikhail) , then, however, it was not. And it was useless. I said: understand correctly, I clearly know that tomorrow three (Albina Akhatova, Ekaterina Yuryeva) will be disqualified. I spoke directly with the athletes - also zero. that there is a political component - but the complete lack of control, sheer chatter and verbiage of the former Minister of Sports and his team led to such results."

Tikhonov emphasized that he had repeatedly tried to convey information to the head of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation at that time.

“I tried to warn him, I talked about this many times, and on television,” added the agency’s interlocutor. “I kept the SMS, I couldn’t get to him for six months - to give him normal information and take some measures. For us, it all started with meldonium, and I had complete information - when it would be turned on, and so on. Tikhonov had such moments, there were many of them in different areas. Today I listened to the conversation between the Prime Minister (Dmitry of the Russian Federation) and correspondents. and he was asked a question about doping. Mutko was promoted, but this does not mean that there was a state program."

No advocacy

“I will say this - there is a lack of professionalism, the team employs people who are already covered in moss, there is no high-quality sports medicine, there is not a single punishment for athletes,” Tikhonov continued. “We were caught in Russia too, right? After all, this is from It was repeated year after year, and ten times a year. Therefore, I won’t be surprised at anything. I can’t say where this data comes from. What we have today is a complete lack of information, no defense of our interests in biathlon. I don’t express any grievances. but with me everything was in perfect order. I made a scandal, but I defended my interests. And I alone fought against the entire executive committee (IBU), and we held the world championships - both summer and winter."

According to the former head of the RRF, it is difficult to count on an explanation of the reasons for what happened.

“This is where it all started - professionals are not needed, but obedient people are needed, such as (Adviser to the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Natalya) and everyone else he recruited,” says the specialist. “I will say - this is one hundred percent Mutko’s fault.” He beat himself in the chest with a fist before the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro: “I will personally answer for doping.” Where is the answer? And I am sure that in the near future we will not hear or see anything intelligible. And we have nothing to defend ourselves with. that we are constantly trying to veil, somehow avoid answering. Yes, there is pressure on us. And regarding Besseberg, he speaks not without reason, probably. And now I am sure that this is the same line (of doctors, father and son) Dmitrievs. Where did it come from, where was the control? Where were the samples taken in our country? There is absolutely no information.”

The Russian Biathlon Union (RUB) announced to the International Biathlon Union (IBU) its refusal to hold the penultimate, ninth stage of the World Cup in Tyumen (March 9–12) and the youth and junior championships in Ostrov (February 22–March 2). /website/

On Thursday, December 22, in Munich, the IBU heard a report from a special expert group accusing Russian biathletes of doping. The statement reported that a disciplinary investigation had been opened against two biathletes (names not disclosed) and they were temporarily suspended from competition. Another 29 athletes are under suspicion: they will continue their performances at international tournaments, but they will be investigated.

Considering the boycott that some national teams announced against the World Cup in Tyumen, the RBU itself decided to refuse to hold it, as well as the championship among youth and juniors in Ostrov.

The national teams of the Czech Republic, Great Britain, and Norway threatened to boycott the tournament. Other national teams were ready to support their initiative.

Fight or accept?

“The RBU deliberately abandoned the World Cup stage in Tyumen. This step forward should preserve the participation of our athletes in the World Cup, World Championships and Olympic Games. Otherwise, we had already heard that some athletes from other countries intended to boycott competitions in our country. The RBU decided to soften the situation by refusing,” Gazeta.Ru quotes the words of the former senior coach of the Russian men’s biathlon team, Vladimir Alikin. In his opinion, Russia got off with a “mild sentence.”

Outstanding coach Alexander Privalov does not agree with him: “It is wrong that we refused to host the youth championship and the World Cup stage. Refusal is not a solution! “We may still lose the right to host the 2021 World Cup.”

According to four-time world champion Vladimir Drachev, “the main thing for today is that there were no disqualifications, the team was left to work.” “It’s better to lose less than to resist and lose everything,” he believes.

The Minister of Sports of Ukraine on his Facebook stated that Russia should be deprived of all international competitions: “My political and civil position is clear and consistent. Due to wild and massive doping abuses, Russia should be deprived of the right to host all international competitions.”

Was there doping in biathlon?

According to presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, Russia rejects accusations of the existence of a doping system in sports. He said that President Putin had previously stated the need to interact with international organizations “to clarify the situation and build an effective new system to prevent the use of doping.”

However, Soviet biathlete, four-time Olympic champion, 11-time world champion Alexander Tikhonov refutes his statement. “I want to publicly apologize for the former Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Vitaly Mutko,” he said in May of this year at a Moscow briefing. Tikhonov considers Vitaly Mutko to be involved in the doping scandal and the collapse of sports in Russia.

He recalled that Russia has been inaccessible to others in biathlon for 50 years. Over the past 9 years, due to the lack of competent sports specialists, doctors, psychologists, and coaches, the country has literally “fell” from its pedestal. We need a worthy management team that will really care about Russian sports, Tikhonov believes.

Transfer of other tournaments

The International Skating Union also decided to move the World Cup stage from Russia, nos.nl reports. The reason for this was the WADA report on the use of doping in Russian sports, on the basis of which the International Olympic Committee made a decision.

The final stage of the World Cup in speed skating was supposed to take place on March 10–12 in Chelyabinsk.

Russian speed skater Denis Yuskov at the World Classic All-Around Championships in Calgary, Canada, March 8, 2015. Photo: Derek Leung/Getty Images

Previously, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation moved the 2017 World Championships from Sochi to Königssee, Germany. The federation said the postponement of the tournament would allow all athletes and coaches to focus on the competition and “not on disputes and accusations - whether justified or not.” In addition, the current situation will make it difficult to evaluate the efforts of Russian organizers to create a track in Sochi, which is considered the best in the world.

On December 9, the second part of the report of Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren on doping in Russian sports was published. It claims that since 2011, thousands of Russian athletes have participated in manipulation of doping samples. Among them may be bobsledders.

Meanwhile, in Tyumen alone for the World Cup stage, 20 thousand tickets were sold, of which 60% did not belong to residents of the Tyumen region. That is, people bought train and plane tickets in advance. “They most likely bought not the most expensive tickets, which means they were non-refundable. This is a blow to the entire Russian biathlon community. For ordinary fans, fans of the sport,” said Dmitry Gramotin, head of the sports department of the Tyumen region.

A new doping scandal is breaking out in domestic sports. The World Doping Agency has identified more than 30 Russian biathletes who are suspected of using prohibited medications. What is known about this case at the moment and what is the reaction to this news of Russian and foreign athletes and functionaries - in the RBC material

Dmitry Malyshko (Russia) during the men's sprint race at the third stage of the Biathlon World Cup 2016/17 season in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic (Photo: Alexey Filippov/RIA Novosti)

What is known so far

• On December 15, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) received from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) a list of names of 31 Russian biathletes suspected of doping.
• The list was compiled based on the results of an investigation by McLaren’s independent commission, so we can talk about athletes who used doping in the period from 2011 to 2015.
• IBU President Anders Besseberg said that there are three groups of athletes on the list: active athletes; those who have already completed their careers; and those who are not listed in the IBU database. In the latter case, we are talking about athletes who compete only in domestic Russian competitions.
• The names of the athletes convicted of doping will not be revealed until a decision is made on each of them.
• The IBU announced the creation of a special working group, which included lawyers and experts in the anti-doping field. It has already held its first meeting, at which it reviewed information about current Russian biathletes mentioned in McLaren’s report. The group will report to the IBU on the information found and propose disciplinary action at a meeting on December 22.
• A decision on the doping cases of 31 Russian athletes may be made before the start of the World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria, which will be held from February 8 to 19, 2017. According to some reports, this could happen before the New Year.
• The holding of the Biathlon World Championships in Tyumen in 2021 is under threat; a decision on it may be made at the IBU Congress next year.

Athletes' reaction

Currently, the Russian team is at the third stage of the World Cup in the Czech Nove Mesto, it will end on December 18. The current season, compared to the previous one, is not going so badly for the Russian team: our athletes won six medals (one gold, three silver and two bronze). The Norwegian team had the same result; only the French and Germans showed the best results.

Russian athletes who took 2nd place in the men's relay at the second stage of the Biathlon World Cup 2016/17 season in Pokljuka, Slovenia. From left to right: Maxim Tsvetkov, Anton Shipulin, Anton Babikov, Matvey Eliseev (Photo: Andrey Anosov/SBR/RIA Novosti)