“Suspicion alone is not enough”: the International Biathlon Union made a decision on Russia. IBU sentenced Russian biathlon Munich biathlon commission decision
Photo: eurosport.com The doping trial will be postponed until next year.
The Russian biathlon team in full strength may be suspended today from starts at the World Cup. Today in Munich, following a meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), dedicated to the problem of doping, a decision will be made.
Under suspicion of using banned substances in 2011-2015, 31 shooting skiers from Russia fell under suspicion. The list based on the report on December 15 was handed over by an independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) led by Richard McLaren.
The agency does not officially publish the names of Russian athletes who have been caught violating anti-doping rules. “The names of the athletes in the 31 folders of documents will remain confidential until final decisions are made on each case individually,” Sport-Express quotes an IBU press release.
However, information was leaked to the Network about biathletes “caught” in doping, where Anton Shipulin from Yekaterinburg is also present. The 66.ru portal cannot judge the reliability of the file, but this option is being discussed in social networks. In it, by the way, just 31 points.
It should be noted that on December 11, journalists found out that WADA suspects four Russian biathletes of using the so-called “Rodchenkov cocktail” - a mixture of alcohol and anabolic steroids. The personal data of the athletes were converted into a digital code, but a simple logical calculation managed to find out three names: Olga Zaitseva, Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova. Until today, the name of Shipulin has never been mentioned in this context.
It is reported that some biathletes from the list have already been disqualified, some have retired.
Anders Besseberg, IBU President:
We have enough evidence of anti-doping rule violations by the Russians. We received additional information that is not in the McLaren report.
Dmitry Guberniev, a commentator on the Match TV channel, who knows biathlon, is probably the best in the country, warns of serious sanctions.
Dmitry Guberniev, commentator:
There is a high probability of the complete removal of Russia. The tone of IBU President Besseberg has changed over the past few days. Now we need to cooperate with the investigation as much as possible, although there is a feeling that it is already too late. The situation is critical.
In theory, there are several possible scenarios for today's meeting, which will begin at 17:00 local time:
In addition, there is a high probability that the Union will cancel the competitions planned in Russia: the World Junior Championships in Ostrov and the World Cup stage in Tyumen.
Latest news of the Sverdlovsk region on the topic:
Anton Shipulin was blacklisted by WADA. The decision to suspend the biathlete for doping will be made today
Russia lost the stage of the Biathlon World Cup, but retained the national team- Ekaterinburg
The Russian Biathlon Union refused the World Cup stage in Tyumen The IBU release reports that the Russian Biathlon Union proposed to the International Biathlon Union to move the World Cup stage from Tyumen,
13:07 23.12.2016
JustMedia.Ru
Thursday, December 15 International Biathlon Union(IBU) received from World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) list of 31 Russian biathletes suspected of violating anti-doping rules.
Among them are athletes who have already completed their careers, and those who have served a disqualification for doping, and those who have never been part of the national team.
This list of organizations was provided by the head of the independent commission of WADA Richard McLaren after the publication on December 9 of the second part of the report on doping in Russian sports.
McLaren accused Russia of creating a large-scale doping support system and fraud during major tournaments, including the home Olympics in Sochi, as well as before and after the 2014 Games.
After that, a number of teams, in particular the Czech Republic and Great Britain, as well as the leader of the overall World Cup standings, the French Martin Fourcade expressed their intention to boycott the 2016/17 World Cup in Tyumen if the penalties for violating anti-doping rules were not severe enough.
The expediency of holding the 2021 World Cup in Tyumen was also called into question.
Two suspended biathletes
The IBU Executive Board heard the report of an expert group set up a week ago to review material provided by WADA following the publication of the second part of the McLaren Report.
The main result - the Russian biathlon team is not suspended from international competitions. For now.
As a result of an emergency meeting of the executive committee of the organization, it was decided temporarily suspend two athletes from Russia.
In relation to these biathletes, whose names are not known, a disciplinary investigation has been launched, during which they will not be able to compete.
Of the 31 Russian biathletes mentioned in Richard McLaren's report, one has competed only at the national level, while the other is already serving a sentence.
In relation to the Russian Biathlon Union and the remaining 27 biathletes, which are discussed in the second part of the McLaren report and who are not associated with the Sochi Olympics, investigations will be opened.
The temporary disqualification of the athletes mentioned in the second part of the McLaren report and not associated with the Winter Olympics has not yet come into force.
The IBU has also ruled:
Warn each athlete of the Russian Federation mentioned in the report;
- set a time limit for submitting comments;
- Establish a working group to further the IBU's anti-doping investigation.
- the decision on whether to bring charges or not, to submit to the hearing of the anti-doping commission.
- Anti-Doping Commission - to make decisions that can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Russia lost the World Cup stage
Another unpleasant outcome of the IBU Executive Committee meeting was that the Russian Biathlon Union refused to host the World Cup stage in Tyumen of the Youth and Youth World Championships, which was to be held in Ostrov (Pskov region).
It is now up to the IBU to decide where these competitions will take place. Regarding the hosting of the 2021 World Cup in Tyumen, there is no clarity yet.
IBU President Anders Besseberg welcomed the decision of the RRF to voluntarily refuse to host the 2017 Youth and Youth World Championships in Ostrov and the World Cup stage in Tyumen, and also explained what caused such soft sanctions against the Russians.
Two participants of the Olympic Games in Sochi disqualified? How it was
Two participants of the 2014 Games from the Russian biathlon team may be disqualified. The SBR itself has refused tournaments. What's next?
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22:00. So, today Tyumen lost the World Cup stage, Ostrov - the World Championship among youth and juniors, and two Russian biathletes, apparently involved in the Sochi Olympics, were temporarily disqualified. On the other hand, the Russian team will continue to compete in international competitions - this is perhaps more important a year before the Olympics in Pyeongchang. This is the end of today's online broadcast. Stay with us and follow the biathlon with the participation of the Russian team!
21:55. The correspondent of the "Championship" Alexander Kruglov summed up everything that happened today in Munich. .
21:30. The decision of the Russian Biathlon Union to refuse to hold the World Cup stage in Tyumen, Dmitry Gramotin, head of the sports department of the Tyumen region: “It's a shame that we were forced to abandon the competition. This is a blow to the entire biathlon community in Russia. For ordinary fans, fans of the sport.
21:25. "It's better to lose less than to balk and lose everything" - four-time world champion Vladimir Drachev.
21:15. The RBU issued a special statement following the meeting of the IBU Commission:
“Unfortunately, under the current circumstances, the RRF considers it impossible to hold in the coming months on the territory of Russia the stage of the Biathlon World Cup and the Junior World Championship, which were to be held in Tyumen and Ostrov, respectively. Competitions should be held in an atmosphere of celebration, and not among suspicions and rumors.
The RBU looks forward to a speedy and thorough investigation by the IBU regarding the information contained in the report of the Richard McLaren Commission. RRF in this situation will act in accordance with international anti-doping legislation. At the same time, the defendants in the cases should be punished only if their guilt is really proven. We hope that big biathlon will return to Russia in the very near future.” The full version of the statement can be found on the SBR website.
21:05. “This is the first important step on the part of the RBU, which shows the IBU and the world of sports that the current situation has been taken very seriously. This will allow the international biathlon family to concentrate on biathlon while the investigation is ongoing.
The findings of the McLaren report highlighted serious problems in Russian sports and the anti-doping system. The IBU has carefully considered all available information; now we need to find out the scale of the problem that exists in Russian biathlon,” said the IBU President Anders Besseberg.
20:55. In the final release of the IBU, in a separate note, it is reported that the vice president Victor Maygurov did not participate in decision making.
20:52. Another breaking news came from the world of speed skating. ISU made a decision, which was to be held in March in Chelyabinsk.
20:48. One of the points of the verdict states that at the moment, decisions on temporary suspensions for athletes not associated with the Sochi Olympics, but mentioned in the second part of the McLaren report, do not come into force. That is, we can conclude that the two suspended biathletes are involved in the Games in Sochi.
20:44. In the decision of the IBU commission there are no clauses about depriving Tyumen of the World Cup stage, and Ostrov - the World Championship among youth and juniors. Formally SBR.
20:35.
So, the main results can be reduced to several points.
1. Take disciplinary action against two athletes - suspension (names withheld).
2. Open investigations against the RRF and 29 other athletes referred to in the second part of the McLaren report and who are not associated with the Sochi Olympics.
- Notify each such athlete of the Russian Federation
- Set a time limit for testifying.
- Establish a working group to further the IBU anti-doping investigation
- At an Anti-Doping Panel hearing, decide whether charges should be filed
20:33. There is a solution!!! We take in more air into the chest, iii ....
20:25. Italian biathlete Federica Sanfilippo in his "instagram" as if hinting that it's time to forget about all the worries and enjoy dinner in peace. But we will still wait for the fateful decision of the IBU special commission.
20:05. Petter Northug already decided: he will miss the Tour de Ski. And the IBU with the announcement of the final decision is delaying. Whether this is good or bad - everyone can decide for himself.
19:45. It is impossible not to note the balanced position of the President of the Biathlon Federation of Ukraine Vladimir Brynzak, who once again proved to be an adequate leader, even in the face of difficult Russian-Ukrainian relations. “There will be evidence - let them be punished as it should be. Why should we boycott? As soon as they make a decision, then we will see,” Brynzak said.
19:30. Director of the Biathlon and Cross-country Skiing Department of the Austrian Ski Federation Markus Gandler in the German press regarding Russians suspected of doping. “As for the transfer of the World Cup stage from Tyumen, I'm not sure that this will be fair to the organizers, who have done a great job. We hope for a fair investigation."
19:15. As it became known to the "Championship", both representatives of Russia - IBU vice-president Viktor Maygurov and head of the international department of the RRF Sergei Mnatskanov- asked to leave the hall during the announcement of the decision.
19:00. “The phrase of one comedian comes to mind that you need to understand and forgive, giving everyone the opportunity to compete further. I hope the decision will be adequate, ”the biathlete Alexey Slepov.
18:45. The silence was broken by the president of the Czech Biathlon Union Jiri Hamza. He still insists that international biathlon competitions cannot be held in Russia, but at the same time he believes that.
18:35. The official IBU Instagram continues to burn with napalm. Instead of mentioning the results of the meeting, everyone is invited to admire the fan's unusual manicure. Undoubtedly, beautiful, but somehow out of place.
18:20. They are not in a hurry to announce the decision in the IBU. And the staff of the Insidethegames website, which often touches on the problems of doping in Russia, has a Christmas party, which is attended by Vitaly Mutko. "Know crime!"
18:00. So the meeting is over. Now it remains to wait for the official announcement of its results. The IBU representatives in charge of public relations promised to give them as quickly as possible.
17:50. RUSADA distinguished itself at the most important moment for Russian sports - it decided to congratulate its Twitter followers on Christmas. I wonder who they congratulate on the 22nd? Richard McLaren? Yes, even it is too early to celebrate, not to mention the majority of the population of Russia.
17:40. Alexey Voevoda is mastering the art of fencing, apparently preparing to blow the heads of those who accuse him or someone else of our athletes of doping. Recall that it is the two-time Olympic champion in bobsleigh, according to our foreign "partners", that is one of the main suspects on McLaren's list.
17:30. The German press reports that the German Ski Association has refused any appeals and comments until the official statement of the IBU executive committee.
17:20. According to the "Championship", the official part of the meeting is over, the report was heard. Probably, already in these minutes, measures are being discussed that should be taken in relation to the RRF and the Russian biathlon team.
17:10. Dmitry Guberniev asks a rhetorical question: "To be Russian biathlon or not"? We will know the answer to it in the near future.
17:00. Dutch ice skating coach Yak Ori made an assumption. “What the Russians do with urine samples of their athletes, they can do with the samples of others,” Ori suggested. Interestingly, did it not occur to him that, according to his logic, with the samples of Russian athletes that are stored and studied far beyond the borders of Russia, it was also possible to do whatever you want?
16:45. The IBU, as if mocking, puts another Christmas calendar on its official Twitter. For them, apparently, this is the most important event of the day.
16:30. Vice President for Development, member of the IBU Executive Committee Swedish Ulle Dalin in the Finnish press, he stressed that a certain unequivocal decision would be made in Munich today - the commission is not going to delay the verdict until the January stages of the World Cup.
16:20. American biathlete Lowell Bailey talks about the "biggest hoax in history" without being proven. And, of course, everyone has already forgotten about the case of the BALCO laboratory in the USA ...
16:10. For now, we invite you to recall the table from the first part of McLaren, which displayed all the sports allegedly related to the concealment of doping samples. In practice, it turned out that in many sports we are talking about athletes who have been punished for a long time, so it cannot be ruled out that the “list of 31” consists of approximately the same disqualified ones.
16:00. In recent hours, the heated debate around the IBU commission meeting has subsided. While no one else is demanding boycotts, no one declares himself the main fighter against doping. It is understandable - now there is no point in putting pressure on the commission ... Unless after the announcement of a result that is objectionable to someone. A typical example is on Instagram. Johannes Boe there are discussions between Russian-speaking fans, but the athlete himself is silent.
15:50. From Max Cobb the stone, it seems, flew into the garden of Russian sports. “Look at the recheck data from 2008 and 2012 and you will see where the problems are,” the IBU vice president recently wrote on his social media page.
15:40. A curious fact was revealed: the most successful British biathlete in history, the English-speaking commentator of Eurosport Michael Dixon, now insisting on a boycott of competitions in Russia, in the 80s he worked for a short time under the guidance of Anders Besseberg- Coach of the UK team.
15:30. Meanwhile, there is not a word about the meeting of the special commission on Russian biathlon in the official IBU twitter. They are getting ready for the upcoming Christmas.
15:20. And the silver medalist of the Olympics and the world champion Nikolai Kruglov sure that . “We only see the enemies around us. We believe that there is a conspiracy against us. But there is no smoke without fire. Surely there are some facts because of which the entire world community is so excited, ”the biathlete emphasized.
15:10. In Russian biathlon, opinions are divided. Olympic champion in biathlon, and now director of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug Evgeny Redkin, for example, believes that boycotts of competitions in Russia are politics, and "".
15:00. In the meantime, fateful questions for Russian biathlon are being asked Dmitry Guberniev.
14:50. So, according to our information, the meeting of the IBU special commission has begun. Now sad (or joyful?) news can be expected literally every minute.
14:45. Hayo Seppelt, by the way, does not forget about Russia, and closely follows the development of events on all fronts. Separately, he noted the news that Vitaly Mutko officially entered the list of candidates from UEFA to the FIFA Council.
14:35. Cobb a few days before the meeting in an interview with the correspondent of the “Championship” Alexander Kruglov: “All decisions by the IBU special commission will be made in accordance with the current WADA code. This also applies to personal punishments of athletes and additional sanctions against the RRF, if his guilt is proven.” Maigurov, back in September: “Tyumen will be deprived of the 2021 World Championship only if the entire Russian Biathlon Union is expelled from the IBU. At the moment, there are no reasons for fear and, I hope, there will be no more.” Whether our official was mistaken or not, we will find out very soon.
14:25. In the meantime, the fate of the Russian team is being decided in the Munich offices, it is worth considering the fact that there is no one in the IBU from our country except the first vice president Viktor Maygurov. Not a single representative on the committees (even though Hungary or Brazil have them), not a single international referee at the World Cup or the IBU Cup. However, with the replacement Tashler on Cobb instead of a friend of the vice president, we got his opponent.
14:20. In the most extreme case, the Russian team will face a complete disqualification. How do you think this decision should be answered?
14:10. Fans of Russian biathlon seem to be ready for the worst. 39 percent of the participants in the survey on the possible punishment of the Russian team believe that we are waiting for a complete disqualification. Another 26 percent are sure that we will lose the right to host international competitions - in total, almost two-thirds of those surveyed suggest a painful blow to Russian biathlon.
14:00. The timing of the announcement of the decision is not known. The commission will begin meeting somewhere in Munich (more details are kept secret) around 14:00 Moscow time, the event is unlikely to be long, everything is probably already scheduled. No one promised the final press conferences, but the release with the results should appear in the "Championship" as quickly as possible. Well, then let's start collecting stones.
13:55. It is important to note that today's IBU decision could have implications beyond biathlon. First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Sports Committee Vyacheslav Fetisov. And we have a lot of weaknesses, it must be admitted. The Expressen edition, citing its sources, suggests that in the near future the Russian national cross-country skiing team.
13:45. Taking into account the fact that not only the teams of the Czech Republic and Great Britain are calling for a boycott of the competitions in Russia, but the decision to cancel them looks more and more likely. However, in our case it will not be the worst option. The main scenarios for the development of events, while in the worst case, biathletes can go the sad way of athletes.
13:35. Events around biathlon unfold in much the same way as around bobsleigh. A chain reaction has been set in motion, and some national federations have already announced their intention to boycott competitions in Russia. It is curious that the domino effect unwittingly launched Martin Fourcade. At first, Norwegian journalists misrepresented the words of the Frenchman, and. Then it turned out that Marten had spoken, but the denials seemed to have been noticed only in the Russian press.
13:25. The publication of the second part of the report has already caused significant damage to Russian sports. 60 days before the start of the 2017 World Cup International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. A good enough reason for the IBSF was the boycott announced by individual national federations. If some other reasons for such a decision exist, they were not announced. The situation would look ridiculous if the consequences were not so serious.
13:15. And here is the main work Richard McLaren. Today appeared at the "Championship". You still have time to skim through the text and decide for yourself: is there something worthwhile, or is everything written - inventions of ill-wishers and intrigues of enemies of Russian sports.
13:10. Today investigations Hayo Zeppelt on ARD, the disqualifications of Russian track and field athletes and Paralympic athletes seem like events of bygone days. Russian sport is under heavy bombardment, and a new starting point is the appearance of the second part of the report McLaren. Old Richard announced that there are questions about the four gold medals won by our athletes in Sochi at once. However, for the next two weeks, no names were still heard. You can find the background to the publication of the second part of the report and the online text of the events on December 9 that led us to today's meeting.
13:00. Hello dear biathlon fans. Why is there biathlon - all Russian sports. Today in Munich, a special commission of the International Biathlon Federation will announce the results of its investigation into the crimes of Russia. The emergence of this very commission - a special and, of course, independent - was facilitated by the second part of the McLaren report and a list of 31 Russian biathletes suspected of doping that suddenly appeared. Until now, there is no evidence, no names, but there is an investigation. And we will know the results very soon. “Championship” begins online broadcasting of the main event of the day: we will remind you how it all started, how it went on, and, of course, we will tell you how it will end. Do not miss!
The Executive Committee of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) has decided not to exclude Russian biathletes from participating in the World Cup.
“The IBU Executive Board discussed the information provided by the Austrian authorities in connection with the anti-doping investigation against the Russian team. The Executive Council considers that no action is required at this time. This is partly due to the fact that the Austrian authorities have not provided the IBU with any further information about the ongoing investigation beyond what has been published. The IBU remains focused on working with the current leadership of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) to meet criteria that will ensure that the RBU has a credible anti-doping program.”, the IBU said in a statement.
The biathlon federations of the Czech Republic, Canada, the USA and Sweden initiated the issue of removing the Russian team from the World Cup
A little earlier, before the Executive Committee took a decision on the Russians, the biathlon federations of the Czech Republic, Canada, the USA and Sweden initiated the issue of temporary suspension of Russian biathletes from performing at the KM. This was announced on the air of Match TV by commentator Dmitry Guberniev. The reason for the suspension is the anti-doping investigation that the Austrian police are conducting against 5 Russian athletes and 5 team members.
Vladimir Drachev: "The whole team is running, no one will be removed"
The head of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) Vladimir Drachev commented on the decision of the Executive Committee of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) not to exclude Russian biathletes from participating in the World Cup.
“The very last step - two minutes ago I left the office of the Executive Committee, where I gave explanations about my letter. This is a letter to the President of the IBU with a request to be attentive to the team, taking into account the fact that we do not participate in doping scandals, we comply with all the requirements of the IBU, WADA. In addition, I brought the decision of our ambassador, that everything was considered together with the Austrian prosecutor's office and the lawyer. And the police did not bring any facts confirming our involvement in the doping scandal.
The decision not to dismiss is the correct one. The executive committee is on the way, our issue was considered according to my letter, but did not go on the air. We run with the whole team, no one will remove anyone.
We worked for two days, thanks to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ROC, the Ministry of Sports, the Ambassador in Austria. This scandal showed our solidarity, showed that we are all together. This is the first case of protection of Russian athletes since 2016, which went ahead of the curve. We realized that we need to go forward, not tails., - said Drachev on the air of Match TV.
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Gazeta.Ru ends the online broadcast of the IBU meeting, but continues to monitor the situation.
An emergency meeting of the IBU ended in Munich, which considered the issue of removing 31 Russian biathletes, mentioned in the second part of the McLaren report, from competing in international competitions. As a result, only two of them were temporarily disqualified. The rest are under official investigation. In addition, the RBU refused to host the World Cup stage in Tyumen and the World Youth Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk.
There are rumors that in parallel the International Skating Union (ISU) has moved the final stage of the World Cup in speed skating from Chelyabinsk.
The results of the meeting were briefly commented by IBU President Andres Besseberg. “This is the first important step on the part of the Russian Biathlon Union,” said the functionary. - It shows that the current situation in sports is very serious. Now the biathlon family can focus on biathlon while the investigation continues.”
The venue for the Russian stage of the World Cup will be determined later. The issue of canceling the tournament has not yet been discussed.
In addition, a special IBU investigation will be carried out against the RRF and 29 biathletes. Recall that in the second part of the report of WADA expert McLaren, 31 domestic biathletes appeared.
According to Match TV, two Russian biathletes have been temporarily suspended from the competition. Their names are not yet known.
OFFICIALLY
The RBU refused to host the 2017 Biathlon World Cup in Tyumen. 2 athletes will be temporarily suspended pic.twitter.com/wVNBD8jn7f
— Match TV (@MatchTV) December 22, 2016
And here is the long-awaited announcement! According to Championship.com, the Russian Biathlon Union refused to host the Biathlon World Cup stage in Tyumen this season, as well as the organization of the world championship among youth and juniors in Ostrov. It is clear that the decision was made under pressure: a number of national teams threatened to boycott the Tyumen stage. We are waiting for developments.
The IBU continues to remain silent.
We only state: there is no news at a quarter past nine.
No information...
One can only guess what caused such a long pause. After all, it was understood that the decision would be announced at 19:00. It is possible that the judges do not have a unanimous opinion on this issue.
Let's turn to another insider "Championship.com". According to the portal, both representatives of Russia - IBU Vice President Viktor Maigurov and Head of the International Department of the RRF Sergey Mnatskanov - were asked to leave the hall during the announcement of the decision.
There are no solutions yet. The IBU official messengers are silent. We wait...
15 minutes left to wait. In fact, the decision of the IBU is known in theory, it remains to wait for the official results.
President of the Czech Biathlon Union Jiri Hamza continues to call for Russia to be stripped of the right to host major international competitions, but considers it wrong to punish the entire Russian team “In my opinion, Russian officials who covered up doping should be punished first. Russia should also lose the right to host major competitions for five years,” Hamza quotes sport.idnes.cz.
According to the German press, the local ski union refused to make any statements until the official decision of the IBU Executive Board.
According to "Championship.com", the official part of the meeting is over, the report was heard. Probably, already in these minutes, measures are being discussed that should be taken in relation to the RRF and the Russian biathlon team.
The decision on the admission of Russian biathletes to the January stages of the World Cup will definitely be made today. This was announced by the President of the Swedish Biathlon Federation, IBU Vice President Olle Dahlin. He chose not to comment on the boycott situation, reports ABC Nyheter.
Note that the next, fourth stage of the Biathlon World Cup will be held in early January in Oberhof. His schedule is already known, but whether the Russians will perform there is not yet. However, it didn't take long for the verdict to be announced. Just two hours... 4th stage January 2-8, Oberhof, Germany
January 5 - Sprint (Men) January 6 - Sprint (Women) January 7 - Pursuit (Men) January 7 - Pursuit (Women) January 8 - Mass Start (Men) January 8 - Mass Start (Women)
Chairman of the State Duma Committee spoke on the current situation Mikhail Degtyarev. In the opinion of the politician, the World Cup in Tyumen will "remain a bone in the throat of the Western world until it takes place within the specified time frame or until it is postponed."
“For our part, we insist on moving away from the practice of collective responsibility of athletes, we protest against segregation along national, racial and ethnic lines,” Sport Express quotes Degtyarev. Boycott as a tool is counterproductive in itself. It shows the weakness of some national federations. But this is their right, and it is very difficult to influence the situation in this case. Western federations, unfortunately, violate the fundamental principles of sport, allowing unlawful decisions in relation to entire countries and teams. But there is politics in all world sports - from bobsleigh to football, so we need to finish with the spell "sport is out of politics." Sport has always been and will be one of the tools of political struggle. This means that we need to take tougher positions on all negotiation issues, introduce our functionaries into international organizations. And only English-speaking young people with a crystal reputation, preferably with Olympic medals, can be introduced there. We have plenty of those."
It is very curious that among the supporters of the boycott of the World Cup stage in Tyumen, there was no Biathlon Federation of Ukraine, whose president Vladimir Brynzak called for a start to wait for the results of the trial. “There will be evidence - let them be punished as it should be,” the obozrevatel.com functionary quotes. Why should we boycott? Once they make a decision, then we will see what is happening in the world. Now everyone is talking a lot, but I don’t want to talk, but to do what will be necessary at the appropriate moment.”
The Czech national team has already announced that will not go to Tyumen if the World Cup stage is still held there. The odious legend of the domestic biathlon Alexander Tikhonov commented on this in his own style: “Jiri Hamza (president of the Czech Biathlon Federation) is a bad basketball player and a bad winemaker. He used to play basketball badly, and now he is a winemaker who makes bad wine. For some reason, he is inciting the rest of the country now. The fact that the Czech Republic abandoned the stage in Tyumen means one thing: there will be more space. Only Czech athletes will suffer from this. Apparently, Hamza wants to get the world championship in Nove Mesto.”
Alexander Pak, member of the board of the RBU, shares the same opinion.
“I think that something global will not be announced. Regarding the boycott of the Czech Republic, they have their own interest, because they lost the fight for the World Cup in Tyumen. It is impossible to say unequivocally whether the countries that want to boycott the competitions are right. This is their right. But first you need to prove the involvement of Russian athletes in doping manipulation. There should be a presumption of innocence here. So far, apart from the names indicated in the report, there is no evidence, ”he said in an interview with Sport-Express.
- It is too early to talk about a global boycott, we must wait for evidence and decisions. You shouldn't panic. It is not known whether the biathletes participated in the manipulation of samples at all, because their job is to train, take doping tests. And what they do with them next: how they are collected, how they are transported, how they are checked - this is not the business of athletes. If we take the right measures, there is no need to fear for the 2021 World Cup.”
A well-known biathlon journalist, an employee of Match TV, Ilya Trifanov, shares an insider that no tough sanctions are expected today, especially for athletes. Let's wait and see.
One of the few who categorically spoke out against the complete removal of the Russian team from biathlon competitions was IOC President Thomas Bach. However, his statements did not become popular, and now 24 anti-doping organizations, including the British and American agencies, have expressed disappointment with Bach's decision to refuse to meet them to discuss the problem of reforming the system.
“The heads of the national anti-doping agencies are disappointed that Bach could not accept our invitation to meet. The appearance of the second part of the McLaren report and the urgent need for reforms in the anti-doping system only increase the importance of the conversation between the agencies and the head of the IOC, ”The Guardian quotes the text of a joint statement from the upset organizations.
We have a rather long day ahead of us, because the announcement of the IBU decision is scheduled for 19.00 Moscow time. Now the anti-doping commission of the International Biathlon Union has just gathered for its meeting - a landmark for the entire Russian and world biathlon.
It is doubly disappointing that due to recent events, the results of the Russian team in the World Cup have remained in the shadows. In men, Anton Babikov has already won, in women, Tatyana Akimova recorded the victory and the podium, and Anton Shipulin got in shape and begins to crush the incomparable Martin Fourcade. It will be just incredibly unfortunate if "pure" Russian athletes are out of the game ...
Even now, when it is difficult to assess what the final decision will be, it seems quite obvious that the World Cup stage and the Junior World Cup will be taken away from Russia. And here the locomotive and beacon for the IBU is the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, which moved its upcoming World Championship from Sochi.
“I was shocked by this information that appeared a week ago. But then information appeared that this number included athletes who had already completed their careers, as well as those who competed only in domestic competitions. After that, I let go a little, ”two-time Olympic champion Sergei Chepikov told Sovetsky Sport. - But still there is a chance that we will not be allowed to the stages of the World Cup. But the worst thing is if collective responsibility is included and our entire team is not allowed to participate in the 2018 Olympics.”
However, not everyone is afraid of the complete removal of the national team. So, the famous coach Dmitry Alikin believes that things will not come to this. Indeed, I really would not want Anton Shipulin and other athletes who were not involved in this story to suffer.
The decision will be made today at 15.00 Moscow time, but for now, disturbing news comes from other sports. So, today in the Swedish Expressen, certain specifics appeared on the names of Russian skiers coded in the report, who, according to the McLaren group, were involved in manipulations with doping samples.
We are talking about the leading Russian skiers Maxim Vylegzhanin, Alexander Legkov and Nikita Kryukov. For example, Vylegzhanin, according to the publication, took the anabolic steroid trimetazidine, for the use of which, according to the rules, 4 years of disqualification are required. The athlete used the drug a month before the Games, and then his doping samples were manipulated in the laboratory. Vylegzhanin won three silver medals in Sochi 2014.
“The prospects for this case are difficult to assess unequivocally,” said Vladimir Starinsky, managing partner of the Starinsky, Korchago and Partners bar association. - It is only obvious that Russian athletes are unlikely to be able to use such a move as a reference to the expiration of the statute of limitations (in accordance with Article 16 of the IBU Anti-Doping Rules, they are eight years. - Gazeta.Ru). There are chances that biathletes will be able to avoid sanctions or mitigate them if it is proved that the prohibited substance was consumed through no fault of their own or negligence (Article 10.5.1 of these rules). Similarly, athletes have a chance to prove the minor nature of the fault, which would allow them to reduce the period of disqualification to half the prescribed period (Article 10.5.2 of these rules). However, whether athletes will be able to take advantage of this “window of opportunity” depends on the persuasiveness of the arguments they present.”
Recall that it all started after the second part of Richard McLaren's report on the use of doping in Russian sports. It was about Sochi-2014 and just about winter sports. A study by Professor McLaren and his group, which was allocated $ 1.8 million in anti-doping money, found the participation of 31 (!) Russian biathletes in various doping stories. We are talking about both athletes and athletes who have already completed their careers, and about those who are chasing in the World Cup now. But there are also athletes on the list who performed (or continue to compete) only in the domestic arena, never making it to international starts.
IBU President Anders Besseberg quickly issued a statement that his organization will carefully study all the facts presented in the report, and then make an informed decision. In the future, the tone of Besseberg's statements only became tougher, moreover, the head of the IBU said that his organization had received additional data from the World Anti-Doping Agency that were not in the McLaren report. What this data is, one can only guess.
Hello dear fans! Welcome to the text broadcast of today's biathlon events. Everything looks very alarming, but in fact it can become very sad if the International Biathlon Union (IBU) decides to remove the entire Russian team from participating in the World Cup! The holding of the World Cup stage in Tyumen and the Junior World Championship in Ostrov in 2017 is also under question. Together with you, Alexander Sedov will follow the development of events.
Online starts at 14.00 Moscow time.
Text translation of the decision on the fate of the Russian biathlon.
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