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Biathlon meeting of the ibu commission decision. IBU sentenced Russian biathlon

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Gazeta.Ru completes the online broadcast of the IBU meeting, but continues to monitor the situation.

An emergency meeting of the IBU ended in Munich, at which the question of suspension was considered 31 Russian biathlete, mentioned in the second part of McLaren's report, from performances in international competitions. As a result, only two of them were temporarily disqualified. The rest are under official investigation. In addition, the SBR refused to host the World Cup in Tyumen and the World Youth Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Rumor has it that in parallel the International Skating Union (ISU) moved from Chelyabinsk final stage Speed ​​Skating World Cup.

The results of the meeting were briefly commented on 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. The biathlon family can now 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 seems to have not been discussed.

In addition, a special IBU investigation will be carried out against the RBU and 29 biathletes. Recall that in the second part of the report of the WADA expert McLaren, 31 domestic biathletes appeared.

According to Match TV, two Russian biathletes have been temporarily suspended from the competition. Their names have not yet been announced.

And here is the long-awaited news! According to Chempionat.com, the Russian Biathlon Union refused to host the stage of the Biathlon World Cup in Tyumen this season, as well as to organize 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 the development of events.

The IBU remains silent.

We only state that there is no news at a quarter past eight.

No information ...

One can only guess what caused such a long pause. The implication was that the decision would be announced at 19:00. It is possible that the assessors do not have a unanimous opinion on this issue.

Let's turn to the next insider "Championship.com". According to the portal, both representatives of Russia - IBU Vice-President Viktor Maigurov and Head of the International Department of the RBU Sergei Mnatskanov - were asked to leave the hall during the announcement of the decision.

There is no solution yet. The official IBU messengers are silent. We wait...

There are 15 minutes of waiting left. 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 urge to deprive Russia of the right to host large international competitions, but considers it wrong to punish the entire Russian team “In my opinion, first of all, the Russian officials who covered the use of doping should be punished. Russia should also be deprived of the right to host major competitions for five years, ”Hamza quotes sport.idnes.cz.

According to the German press, the local ski union withdrew any statements pending a formal decision by the IBU Executive Board.

According to Championship.com, the official part of the meeting is over, the report has been heard. Probably, already at this moment, the measures to be taken in relation to the RBU and the Russian biathlon team are being discussed.

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, Vice President of the IBU Olle Dalin. He chose not to comment on the boycott, ABC Nyheter reports.

Note that the next, fourth stage of the Biathlon World Cup will take place in early January in Oberhof. Its schedule is already known, but whether the Russians will perform there is not yet. However, it will not be long to wait 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)

The chairman of the State Duma committee spoke on the current situation Mikhail Degtyarev... According to the politician, the World Cup in Tyumen will "remain a bone in the throat of the Western world until it is held within the specified time frame or until it is postponed."

“For our part, we insist on avoiding the practice of collective responsibility of athletes, protesting against segregation according to national, racial and ethnic principles,” Sport-Express quotes Degtyarev. - Boycott as a tool is counterproductive in itself. It testifies to 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 sports, allowing illegal decisions in relation to entire countries and national teams. But there is politics in all world sports - from bobsleigh to football, so we need to end with the spell “sport outside politics”. Sport has always been and will be one of the instruments of political struggle. This means that we need to take a tougher position on all negotiation issues, to introduce our functionaries into international organizations. And only English-speaking young people with a crystal reputation can be introduced there, preferably with Olympic medals... We have plenty of them. "

It is very curious that among the supporters of the boycott of the World Cup stage in Tyumen was not the Ukrainian Biathlon Federation, whose President Vladimir Brynzak urged to wait for the results of the trial first. “There will be evidence - let them punish as it should be,” the obozrevatel.com functionary quotes. - Why should we boycott? How the decision is made, then we will watch what is happening in the world. Now everyone talks a lot, but I don't want to talk, but to do as it will be necessary at the appropriate moment. "

The Czech national team has already announced that will not go to Tyumen, if there is still will pass the stage World Cup. Odious legend national 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 knocking out the rest of the countries now. The fact that the Czech Republic refused 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. "

The same opinion is shared by the member of the Board of the RBU Alexander Pak.

“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 championship to Tyumen. It is impossible to say unequivocally whether the countries that want to boycott the competition are right. This is their right. But first you need to prove your involvement Russian athletes to doping manipulations. There must 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's too early to talk about a global boycott, we have to wait for proofs and solutions. Don't panic. It is not known whether biathletes at all participated in manipulating the samples, because their business is to train, to take doping tests. And what is done with them next: how they are collected, how they are delivered, how they are checked - it is not the athletes' business. If we take the right measures, there is no need to fear for the 2021 World Cup. ”

Ilya Trifanov, a well-known biathlon journalist and an employee of Match TV, shares his insight that today no tough sanctions, especially against athletes, are foreseen. Let's wait and see.

One of the few who categorically spoke out against the complete removal of the Russian national team from biathlon competitions was IOC President Thomas Bach. However, his statements did not become popular, and now 24 anti-doping organizations at once, including the British and American agencies, expressed their disappointment with Bach's decision to refuse them a meeting to discuss the problem of reforming the system.

“The heads of national anti-doping agencies are disappointed that Bach was unable to accept our invitation to meet. The emergence 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 by the frustrated organizations.

The day ahead of us is quite long, 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 national team in the World Cup have remained in the shadows. Anton Babikov has already won in men, Tatyana Akimova recorded the victory and the podium in women, and Anton Shipulin got in shape and begins to press on the incomparable Martin Fourcade. It will be simply incredibly regretful if "pure" Russian athletes are out of the game ...

Even now, when it is difficult to assess what the final decision will be, it is 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 has transferred its upcoming world championship from Sochi.

“I was shocked by this information, which appeared a week ago. But then information appeared that this number included athletes who had already completed their careers, as well as those who performed only in domestic Russian competitions. After that, they let go a little, - told the "Soviet Sport" two-time Olympic champion Sergei Chepikov. - But still there is a chance that we will not be allowed to the stages of the World Cup. But worst of all, 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 this will not come to such a thing. 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 in the meantime, alarming news comes from other sports. So, today, in the Swedish Expressen, certain specifics have appeared on the names of Russian skiers encoded in the report, who, according to the McLaren group, were involved in manipulating doping tests.

It is 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 of this case are difficult to assess unequivocally," said Vladimir Starinskiy, managing partner of the Bar Association "Starinsky, Korchago and Partners". - 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 Anti-doping rules IBU, they are eight years old. - "Gazeta.Ru"). There is a chance that biathletes will be able to avoid or mitigate sanctions if it is proven that the prohibited substance was not used through their fault or negligence (Article 10.5.1 of these rules). Likewise, athletes have a chance to prove that their fault was insignificant, which would allow them to reduce the period of ineligibility to half the prescribed period (Article 10.5.2 of the above rules). However, whether athletes will be able to take advantage of this "window of opportunity" depends on the persuasiveness of the arguments presented by them. "

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, for which $ 1.8 million in anti-doping money was allocated, revealed 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 those who are racing in the World Cup now. But there are also athletes on the list who performed (or continue to perform) only in the domestic arena, and never made it to international starts.

IBU President Anders Besseberg rather quickly made a statement that his organization would 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, in addition, the head of the IBU said that his organization had received additional data from the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is not in the McLaren report. What kind of data it is is anyone's guess.

Hello dear fans! Welcome to the text broadcast of today's biathlon events. Everything looks very alarming, but in fact it can become completely sad if the International Biathlon Union (IBU) decides to exclude 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 in question. Together with you, Alexander Sedov will follow the development of events.

Text broadcast of the decision on fate Russian biathlon.

Online start at 14.00 Moscow time.

Mumu is not a troll, Mumu is a drowned woman!

Bovykin Andrey, Good idea.

It is necessary to hold the tank biathlon at the walls of WADA. Demonstration performances.

IrinaD, even better in the staff)

Now the question is whether Schlesinger and Bailey will consider this punishment sufficient, otherwise they will stay at the start for 5 minutes, as promised, as a protest))) I imagine, in the mass start, for example)))

Dmitry, he didn't give a damn about your five. He clearly said - these are your problems and we do not pay him. And you and I can continue to spread rot and argue about the fairness of the selection and respect system, but so far no one has answered the question - I'm sending my child to biathlon, I want a World Cup - what should I do? In addition to charging money to someone?
Lena, did you say don't bend ?! Bend and ready for dialogue!

We lost the competition as expected, ours even refused, rightly so, I think, there is no need to heat up the situation with new boycotts. And for the athletes, our nervousness will continue, and so will theirs. Fingers will chop alternately up to: 1) Biathlon World Cup; 2) FIFA World Cup; 3) 2018 Olympics. Well, let's wait, there are no other options for the fans. Perhaps only to raise a wave with the demand to make WADA's activities more transparent.

glad ibu didn’t bend under McLaren and Wadu

Somehow it's not exactly two athletes, which ones? And with the rest, what when, and so on, and how will the guys perform now, suspended in the air?

Alex Pan, you're thinking right. The whole point is how to eat a fish (punish Russia) and not get a response ourselves - the COURT ... Therefore, they will dig, search, and possibly fabricate evidence, as well as legally depersonalize punishment as much as possible in order to avoid personal (IOC, WADA, Aybyu, etc.) legal liability from possible lawsuits. AND THE MAIN THING IS NOT TO LOSE MONEY, because this is already at the genetic level, the punishment is punishment, and the loot is HOLY))

“Sasha was removed, who is still far from his ideal condition. And Katya, who is no longer the leader of our female half. The damage is minimal. " -
The damage is minimal! Only one and a half people were stabbed to death! I never thought that we have such a slave psychology. Someone here suggested expelling us for 40 years? Drive through the desert ...

Elen, as the prince of Kiev said, to Ilya Muromets - "a woman (a woman, a boor was) on a campaign is a very necessary unit!))

Eh, if only McLaren would help reform the SBR ... Then I would give him a "FIVE"!

And for those who are not in the subject, please explain. The doping that was supposedly hidden by the change of urine is not found in the blood like this?
Are urine tubes easier to swap than blood tubes? After all, EPO is probably more effective than those doping that they allegedly tried to hide.

Nick Kuzyansky, they could have been 31, they could have banned the whole biathlon

We discuss the solution in another news item:

Read more about the results and the decision of the IBU Commission in a separate newsletter: website

Yes, in the West, too, the gut has thinned). They hung up a little, I was afraid of more. What a thread Mutko, or Kravtsov, or Maygurov can safely hang a medal on their chest - as the saviors of the national biathlon.

Maria 20120721, it's more about Glazyrina.

"But really, the results are (to put it mildly) humane" Of course! Of course, “humane!” - they chopped off ONLY TWO fingers to us! But as many as 31 could!

In one of the points of the verdict, it is indicated that at the moment no decisions have been made on the provisional suspension for athletes not related to the Sochi Olympics, but mentioned in the second part of McLaren's report. That is, we can conclude that two biathletes involved in the Games in Sochi have been suspended.

I went to hang myself

If Loginov won't start at Izhevka tomorrow, then is he one of the two?

Alex. andr., will you take me to the company?)

Loginov and Yuryeva were removed?

Sergei, the athletes will go to the courts to file against the IBU and not McLaren - McLaren is not even an official and does not bear legal authority. responsibility for the decisions of the federation.
They just double-check the tests, including the B samples, analyze the blood passports and other aspects.

"If only not to disqualify the national team, save Mudko, we'll survive the rest." - we are ready and agree to everything! - even cheer for the castrated national team! So, come on, castrate us further!

And now, for people like me, it is clearly clear and in Russian ... Why have they decided something ?!

Karagodin, do you want to Tyumen? It is enough for you and me to rob a stall!)) Southern, black, humor!))

the remaining 29 ... will pull the veins, further bargaining ...
but really, the results are (to put it mildly) humane

Tyumen will arrange a commercial race, it cannot be prohibited.

Our last stage of KM is also not particularly sorry for me. Because, to call a spade a spade, it has long since turned into a biathlon party, in which, as it turned out, there are a lot of Russophobes. Now let them replace it with something else - and compare! I am sure that they themselves will bite their elbows later.

Not in the subject ... I used to think that the most unpleasant biathlete is Pidgrushnaya ... Now I am sure that Gaba soukouKALOVA is nastier than that!

Key:
Nevertheless, suspicion is not enough for the implementation of sanctions, and we will continue to go down the professional path, taking into account all opinions, and not acting only on suspicion. The correctness of the rule must work both ways - guilty and innocent. "

I will say this - if our heroes do not go to the courts for Honor and Dignity, as Legkov promised earlier, then they went to ... let them hand over whoever they want (if in the case), even Putin, but remain athletes.

Something the guys there probably scared. Because the damage from this decision is minimal for us

Elena, suspended Sasha, who is still far from his ideal condition. And Katya, who is no longer the leader of our female half. The damage is minimal.

They took away the championship in Ostrov and the stage in Tyumen from Russia. 2 biathletes will be suspended from the competition, the rest will continue to compete.

the fact that the RBU itself abandoned the stage and the World Cup is the result of bargaining. Now you can only claim a forfeit with RBU

biathlonworld.com

IBU Press Release: Extraordinary IBU Executive Board Meeting
Decisions on Further Steps Regarding McLaren Report

December, 22 2016

In the light of alarming findings in the second part of McLaren Report (IP Report), the IBU has set its analysis as the top priority and called for the IBU Extraordinary Executive Board (EB) Meeting to decide on further necessary steps. Following a first review of the report, the 127th EB Meeting took place today in Munich, Germany.

The IBU has downloaded and obtained all documents, made available and recommended by WADA. However, at this point in time the final confirmation from WADA and / or IP Team on whether the available documentation with regard to IBU result management authority is complete has not been received yet.

At the meeting, the proposals of the working group, that was installed on December 12th 2016 by the board and that consists of experts in the field of Anti - Doping with respect to medical, legal and result management experience, were discussed.

The continuous contact and information exchange with WADA and the IOC has been constructive.

Overall, the IBU received Executive Summaries on 31 athletes, one of them competed only on national level, and another one has already been suspended by the RBU for the same sample as reported by McLaren.

After a thorough evaluation of the available data as of today, the Executive Board decided on the following:

1. Taking note of the opening of Disciplinary Proceedings by the IOC against two athletes;

2. Imposing provisional suspensions upon two athletes, as a consequence of the opening of IOC Disciplinary Proceedings;

3. Opening formal investigations by the IBU against RBU and 29 athletes listed in the McLaren Report 2 (comparable to cases where there is a positive lab report) for cases not related to the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 (which includes the two athletes named above), i. e.

i. notification of each respective athlete and the Russian Federation,

ii. setting a time limit for commenting on the allegation,

iii. further investigation by the IBU Anti-doping administration and the working group;

iv. decision whether or not a charge should be filed to the Anti - Doping Hearing Panel (further referred to as ADHP);

v. adjudication of the case by the ADHP, if applicable, subject to appeal to the CAS.

4. Provisional Suspensions of athletes named by the McLaren Report 2 outside of the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 were not imposed at this point in time.

The Executive Board tasked the working group to investigate further. A decision whether or not a charge should be filed to the ADHP will be made in cooperation with legal experts and WADA, who offered to assist IBU.

Today, the RBU informed the IBU that the Youth and Junior World Championships 2017 that was originally assigned to Ostrov and the BMW IBU World Cup 8 in 2017 that was assigned to Tyumen are given back to the IBU.

The relocation of both above mentioned events will be decided upon later.

IBU President Anders Besseberg stated after the meeting:

“This is a first important step by the Russian Biathlon Union to show to the IBU and to the world of sport that the current situation is taken very seriously. This will now allow the international biathlon family to focus on biathlon during these events.

Findings of the McLaren Report indicted severe problems in Russian sport and it`s Anti - Doping control system. IBU takes all available information very seriously; it is now on us to find out in detail the scale of the problem in Russian Biathlon.

The IBU has always demonstrated zero-tolerance towards doping at all levels by extending the two year ban on a former IBU official, Gottlieb Taschler to all IBU competitions until 12th June 2018. The fight against doping is not an easy one but one of our top priorities. It is important in order to ensure the future of our sport and maintain the trust of our teams, athletes, member federations, partners and fans.

All athletes deserve that we avoid having any shadow on their performance and that they can compete without any doubts and can completely concentrate on their sport activities.
Nevertheless suspicion is not enough to implement the sanctions and we will keep going down a professional pathway, considering all opinions, but not acting on suspicion only. Correctness of Rules has to work both ways - for the guilty and for the non - guilty. "

The IBU will keep the public informed on further steps and on biathlonworld. com

MOSCOW, December 22. / TASS /. The Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) did not enter into conflict with the part of the world sports community, which became embittered after the release of the final version of Richard McLaren's report, and voluntarily refused to hold this season two international starts - a stage of the World Cup in Tyumen and the World Championship among juniors and youths in Ostrov, Pskov region.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), which on Thursday heard recommendations working group, who studied the data of the investigation by the independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), headed by McLaren, of doping violations in Russian sport. The working group was created on December 15, after the international union received from WADA a list with the names of 31 Russian biathletes who are suspected of violating anti-doping rules.

The executive committee decided to start an investigation into the activities of the RBU and 29 Russian biathletes, with whose doping tests, according to McLaren, were fraudulent in the period from 2011 to 2015. The affairs of two more athletes are held through the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which indicates their performance at Winter Games 2014 in Sochi.

The main thing is that in the current situation, the IBU did not go to an extreme measure - to suspend the membership of the RBU, which would mean the removal of Russian athletes from participation in international competitions. “Suspicion is not enough to impose sanctions, and we will continue to follow the path of professional proceedings, taking into account all opinions, and not acting only on the basis of suspicion, - the president of the organization Anders Besseberg explained the position of the IBU. ".

Weighted decision

Russian biathletes will continue their performance at tournaments under the auspices of the IBU, however, in order to avoid further aggravation of the situation, the RBU voluntarily refused to hold two international starts in the country. "The competition should be held in a festive atmosphere, and not amid suspicion and misinterpretation," the organization said in a statement.

V recent times The biathlon federations of Norway, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom added fuel to the fire, hinting at their unwillingness to go to compete in Russia amid such high-profile accusations from McLaren. The latter, on the eve of the executive committee, even announced a boycott of the upcoming competitions.

“A balanced decision has been made, which allows us to draw conclusions calmly, not on abstract statements and conclusions of one person,” Vitaly Mutko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation for Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy, commented on the decisions of the Executive Committee. “I am sure that our federation will show that the majority athletes have already been punished, and the majority are innocent. I do not see any problems in this case. I hope the whole sports world will do this. "

Now there is a break in the biathlon calendar. Behind three stages of the World Cup, which will resume on January 5 in Oberhof, Germany. On February 11, the world championship starts, which will be hosted by the Austrian Hochfilzen. The best Russian biathlete for today is Anton Shipulin, who in the overall standings of the World Cup takes second place after the Frenchman Martin Fourcade.

MOSCOW, January 22. / TASS /. The International Biathlon Union (IBU), by its decision to suspend the investigation into 22 Russian athletes, made it clear that the data on which the independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), led by Richard McLaren, based its accusations against Russia, is unfounded.

On Saturday evening, the IBU Executive Board held an extraordinary meeting in Anterselva, Italy, at which it heard a report from the organization's working group that studied the data provided by the McLaren Commission. After the release on December 9 of the final version of the report of the Canadian professor, which contained a number of indictments against Russian sports, the IBU Executive Board met for the second time to discuss the issue of biathletes' involvement in anti-doping violations.

IBU out of politics

The first meeting took place on 22 December in Munich; a month ago, it was decided to abandon the stage of the World Cup in Tyumen and the junior world championship in Ostrov (Pskov region), which were scheduled for February-March. In addition, 31 Russian biathletes fell under suspicion, two of whom are Yana Romanova and Olga Vilukhina, who have already completed their careers at the Sochi Olympics. Their affairs are under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As for the remaining 29 athletes, almost all of them were acquitted on Saturday: the IBU will continue to investigate seven biathletes, the organization no longer has any reason to suspect 22 Russians.

“This is a balanced decision,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko commented on the results of the executive committee.

By its decision, the IBU actually questioned the results of the McLaren commission investigation. After all, the conclusions drawn by the Canadian professor and his colleagues were based on data that ultimately ended up at the disposal of the IBU. The International Federation, in turn, found them unconvincing, otherwise it would not acquit almost three quarters of the suspected athletes on Saturday.

Actually, the lawyer of Russian skiers Alexander Legkov and Evgeny Belov, Christoph Wischemann, also spoke about the insolvency of the McLaren commission's data. After conducting his own analysis of the data on the basis of which the athletes were barred from the competition, he found a lot of inaccurate and contradictory information, which he reported. International Federation skiing(FIS).

The FIS has yet to make decisions on the six suspended Russian skiers, but the precedent created by the IBU allows us to hope for a favorable outcome for the athletes.

However, the investigation into the Russian Biathlon Union and its athletes has not yet been completed. The next meeting on this topic will be held by the IBU Executive Board on February 9 - on the first day of the World Championship in Hochfilzen, Austria. The names of the remaining seven athletes, according to the WADA code, have not been disclosed, but it cannot be ruled out that among them there are those who are preparing to compete at the World Championships. For this reason, the IBU should put an end to this matter before the main start of the season.

The voice of biathletes is heard

One of the reasons for convening an emergency meeting could be the reaction to McLaren's report by the athletes themselves, who, at the initiative of the world biathlon leader, Frenchman Martin Fourcade, put forward a number of demands to the IBU. All of them were stated in a letter signed by about 170 athletes.

The IBU Executive Committee considered the request of the athletes and took into account their opinion. "The proposals from the athletes' letter, received on January 13, have been evaluated and taken seriously. They will be sent to the legal committee to prepare proposals to the executive committee in order to amend the rules, which will be considered at the next congress," the organization said in a statement released after the end executive committee.

The next Congress, which is the highest governing body of the IBU, may take place this year. A corresponding offer was also made on Saturday. Initially, it was assumed that the next congress will be held in the fall of 2017.

In addition, the IBU has called on the IOC to double-check the doping tests of all active biathletes who competed at the 2014 Olympics.

Attack on winter views sports in Russia continues. After the loss of the World Bobsleigh and Skeleton Championships in Sochi, trouble struck Russian biathlon. On December 22, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) will make a decision on the doping situation among our athletes. The result may be their partial or complete suspension from the competition, or even the cancellation of upcoming international competitions on the territory of Russia. The World Cup in Tyumen, scheduled for March 2017, may be moved to another country.

The boycott was initiated by the British Biathlon Union, whose representatives in this sport have always been in the background. In a statement on December 21, the British informed about missing the competition in Tyumen. The reason cited was "misleading and dishonest statements" by Russian athletes "that McLaren's report was about politics, not sports." In addition, the text contained the requirements of the federations of the Czech Republic and Norway to the IBU to deprive Russia of international competitions and disqualify athletes. The head of the IBU is Norwegian Anders Besseberg.

President of the Czech Biathlon Federation Jiri Hamza speaks of the postponement of the World Cup in Russia as a settled matter. “I cannot imagine that the stage in Tyumen will still take place. If only for the reason that the athletes will not go there, ”the sports functionary is sure. Chekhov, British and Norwegians can be supported by North Americans. The head of the Canadian program of the highest achievements, Eric de Nys, has already spoken out in favor of depriving Russia of the competition. “Of course we hope the IBU will host correct solution and will take the World Cup away from Tyumen, ”the media quoted him as saying.

On the eve of the demarche of the three federations, the Norwegian coach Knut Tore Berland, who in 2010 worked with the Russian biathlon team as a consultant, admitted that he had passed information about possible violations to WADA. On December 15, it became known that WADA sent the IBU a list with the names of 31 Russian biathletes suspected of doping. Their names and surnames are unknown to the Russian Biathlon Union. The senior coach of our national team, German Ricco Gross called on the IBU to finally reveal the names of those responsible.

Earlier, the four-time Olympic champion in biathlon, Alexander Tikhonov, in an interview with "SP" doubted that the transfer of the World Cup from Tyumen is possible. “I think there are more reasonable people in biathlon and there will be no such thing as bobsleigh. And besides, the World Cup in Tyumen will be held at the end of March - there is no snow in Europe, ”he said on December 14. Tikhonov is now less optimistic.

Speaking about the “England and America” biathlon unions, Tikhonov believes that “the world biathlon is neither hot nor cold from these federations”. They have no normal athletes. They also do not hold competitions. In England, at any rate, nothing ever happened. As for the States, in any of the poorest Russian villages, biathlon competitions would be better organized. Do you know where the athletes lived at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics? In the prison building! And these people will show us in which direction to develop biathlon? " - the legendary athlete was indignant.

The reason for what is happening with Russian biathlon and other winter sports is the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with an appeal to the national federations to freeze the preparation of the main competitions in Russia. This happened after the report of the Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren. In his opinion, Russia has a state system for supporting doping, which means that the principle of collective responsibility of athletes, tested during the Olympics in Rio, is appropriate.

The next victim of this approach may be the leader of the Russian biathlon team, the Olympic champion in Sochi, Anton Shipulin. Although his surname, according to some sources, does not appear in the WADA list.

According to Alexander Chernozubov, President of the National Fund for the Development of Mass Sports, the resources that Russia uses to defend its position in the international arena are insufficient.

In no case should you refuse to cooperate with international organizations... Claims against us are justified. It is necessary to offer technical materials, legal mechanisms for stopping all these scandals. None of this is done. This requires an adequate budget. Not 500 million rubles, as now, but comparable to the WADA budget. Hire lawyers and not ours, Russian, but foreign. Hire a hundred, two hundred, lawyers.

Two-time Olympic biathlon champion Anatoly Alyabyev believes that there are two reasons for what is happening with Russian biathlon: real doping and politics.

There is no smoke without fire, of course. What happened is sad. But questions should be addressed primarily to the management: to the Ministry of Sports, The Olympic Committee and so on. And secondly, abroad, of course, they escalate the situation. They are trying to convince foreign athletes: Fourcade, Bjoerndalen. It seems like sports and politics are different things, but when the press escalates, especially on high level, it is unpleasant. Moreover, many athletes may not know if they add something. This "comrade" who left, he probably knows something (Rodchenkov - WADA informant - author).

"SP": - Is doping possible only among Russian athletes? Don't foreigners do that?

Everybody does it. Now the sport is such that without taking pharmacology, it is impossible to show high results. Moreover, it takes a long time to show them. Everyone understands this: athletes, management, and the press. But there is such a practice - they slightly change the formula of a prohibited drug and it turns out another, not yet prohibited. So it was with meldonium. The athletes themselves certainly do not accept. They are not fools. Know that WADA officers are checking. But there are doctors who can give with the connivance of the leadership.

If the attacks on the football line are still understandable, because a global event is expected in Russia - the 2018 World Cup, then an attack against biathletes, who are under the most severe control, is not right. In general, the principle of collective responsibility is wrong. You can't row everyone with the same brush. Biathlon in Russia is one of the popular sports. Maybe that's why ...

"SP": - Is it planned to toughen the recently adopted law on criminal liability for doping?

No, there are no such plans now. The meaning of the new law is in the inevitability of its action, and not in the most severe punishment. Now it is dangerous to persuade athletes to doping.

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