MOSCOW, December 15 - R-Sport, Elena Dyachkova.(IBU) is ready to provisionally suspend Russian athletes suspected of violating anti-doping rules, whose names were provided to the organization by (WADA). In total, there are 31 Russian biathletes on the list, but some of them have already been disqualified or have completed their careers.
The second part of the report of the independent WADA commission by Richard McLaren was published on December 9, which, among other things, stated that more than a thousand Russian athletes were involved in or benefited from manipulation of doping tests at the Olympic Games in Sochi. Less than a week has passed since, based on an investigation by a Canadian lawyer, Russia, by decision of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), lost the right to host the 2017 World Championships, and on Thursday there were reports in the Norwegian press that the IBU had received from WADA a list of those whom McLaren considered suspected of violating anti-doping rules.
"Some of these 31 athletes have already been disqualified or have retired, but there are people who are currently participating in international competitions. We will make recommendations within a week, the IBU committee can weed out those athletes who should be provisionally disqualified," the IBU head said Anders Besseberg. Later, in an interview with the German television channel ARD, he also noted that some of the athletes included in this number had never competed in international tournaments, taking part only in competitions in Russia.
Experts will draw conclusions in a week
The IBU Special Committee, which included representatives from five countries, already held its first meeting on the Russian list on Thursday. The committee included lawyers and anti-doping experts, but their names were not disclosed. “We expect that in a week, on Thursday, when the IBU executive committee meets, the group will already make its first recommendations,” Besseberg said. According to VG.no, Russian biathletes mentioned in the list may be suspended from competitions before the start of the fourth stage of the World Cup, which will take place in early January in Oberhof, Germany.
On Thursday evening, the IBU released an official statement regarding the latest developments. "The IBU is truly shocked and deeply saddened by the findings of the McLaren report. The IBU has always emphasized that its top priorities include clean sport, the fight against doping and the protection of clean athletes," the statement said.
The decision to hold the 2021 Biathlon World Championships in Tyumen may be made at the IBU Congress next year. “There is nothing urgent about this issue (regarding the 2021 World Cup). This issue can be considered at the IBU congress next year,” Besseberg said. According to him, there is no need to rush into transferring the Tyumen stage of the World Cup, scheduled for March 9-12, 2017, from Russia. “No one is in a hurry to make such decisions. Technically, it is not a problem to postpone the World Cup as soon as possible. We can do this within seven days,” said the IBU head.
SBR is ready to respond
The President of the Russian Biathlon Union (SBR) told the R-Sport agency that if the IBU informs the Russian side of its claims.
"Besseberg's statement said that they (IBU) received this information from McLaren's report. We are talking about the period from 2011 to 2014 inclusive. What can we comment on here? They will send us to the federation if they have formal charges against someone , we will consider it personally. The RBU does not have these names. The IBU, as the official recipient of information from WADA, does its job step by step,” says Kravtsov.
He also said that he sees no threat to moving the World Cup from Russia. “There is no need to make any announcements here, that nothing threatens us, for example. We are working together with the IBU. Today, on a formal basis, what can the IBU present using the McLaren report? Or what did the authors of this report present to the IBU itself? What was carried out some kind of manipulation with samples. In any case, the athletes themselves did not participate in this, they did not stand and pour from one test tube to another, and the SBR did not participate in such manipulation, if it took place,” the head of the SBR emphasized.
The two-time Olympic champion, member of the RBU council, believes that Russian athletes should expect other unpleasant consequences of the McLaren report. “Now they will open the samples, and something else will happen. Moreover, this is the attitude towards Russia, now they will look for any reason, but there was probably something there. I think they will find something. And here we need to talk not only about biathletes. Unfortunately, there is no smoke without fire. Now you just have to wait, but you can’t delude yourself that everything is fine. You have to wait for the catch, but there will probably be one,” Alyabyev believes.
“I don’t think that any measures can come into force right today. They could put a dent in the World Cup or the Olympics (2018). They will squeeze everything out of their hands. Don’t forget that sport is part of politics,” he emphasized.
Will the IBU follow the path of the IBSF?
Two-time Olympic champion Dmitry Vasiliev believes that Besseberg will not allow madness towards Russia. "The IBU will follow common sense, because there are reasonable people there. For example, who is not a supporter of radical measures. I hope that he will not allow the madness that has now happened in bobsleigh and skeleton. I think the IBU will not be so radical on unproven arguments react,” Vasiliev told R-Sport.
And the former president of the RBU, four-time Olympic champion Alexander Tikhonov believes that the current events were caused by a complete lack of control over the situation in biathlon on the part of the former leadership of the RBU and President Mikhail Prokhorov, as well as the Ministry of Sports. "We have already stopped being surprised by anything. I think these are probably responses 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 RBU (Mikhail) Prokhorov, then, however, there wasn’t. And it was useless,” Tikhonov said.
“I agree that there is a political component, but a complete lack of control, sheer chatter and verbiage of the former Minister of Sports and his team led to such results,” the Olympic champion added.
A list with the names of 31 Russian biathletes who are suspected of using prohibited substances was received by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). This was stated by the head of the IBU, Anders Besseberg, reports the Norwegian portal VG.
“Some of those mentioned in the list of 31 athletes have already been disqualified, others have stopped competing, but there are people who are currently participating in international competitions. We will make recommendations within a week to weed out those athletes who, in the opinion of the IBU working group, may be disqualified,” said Anders Besseberg.
Earlier, we recall, the IBU announced the creation of a special working group, which included lawyers and specialists in the anti-doping field. According to VG, the group will hold its first meeting today. There, she will first of all consider information about current Russian biathletes, who are mentioned in the second part of the report of the head of the independent WADA commission, Richard McLaren, dated December 9 on doping in Russia. In particular, it states that more than a thousand Russian athletes were involved in fraud with doping tests. The group will include lawyers and anti-doping experts. The IBU President said that he would not name the members of this committee. “We don't want them to worry about their jobs. They should not face pressure from the media or other parties,” said the IBU head.
Anders Besseberg previously stated that Russia could lose the 2021 Biathlon World Championship if the involvement of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) in the doping fraud mentioned in the report is proven. In his opinion, the final decision on this championship can be made at the IBU congress next year. “There is nothing urgent about this issue, it can be considered in a year,” VG quotes the IBU head.
Mr. Besseberg also commented on the current circumstances regarding the holding of the World Cup stage in Tyumen, scheduled for March 9–12, 2017. “Nobody is in a hurry to make such decisions. Technically, it is not a problem to move the World Cup stage as soon as possible. We can do this within seven days,” said the IBU President.
Valeria Mironova
Russian biathletes took second place in the relay in Pokljuka
On December 11, the Russian men's team successfully competed at the second stage of the Biathlon World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. On its final day, the Russian four, consisting of Maxim Tsvetkov, Anton Babikov, Matvey Eliseev and Anton Shipulin, took silver in the relay, losing only to the French.
Why did the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation take away the right to host the World Championships from Sochi?
Russian sport is once again faced with the serious consequences of the doping saga, of which it has been at the epicenter throughout the year. On December 13, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation decided to move the World Championships, which were to be held in Sochi in February 2017, to another country. With its decision, the IBSF has created a precedent that may prompt other international sports federations to take similar actions.
Punitive action against Russian sports launched by the publication of the second part of the report Richard McLaren gaining momentum.
Following Sochi's deprivation of the right to host the 2017 Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships, the time has come for punishment of specific people in specific sports.
The “first sign” was one of the most popular winter disciplines - biathlon.
International Biathlon Union (IBU) We are talking about the same athletes who were included in the “1000 athletes from 30 sports” that McLaren mentioned in his report.
The International Biathlon Union received its share of the pie first and began the procedure for taking action.
“Some of these athletes have already completed their sports career, but among the violators there are also those who are now participating in international competitions,” he noted IBU head Anders Besseberg.
Why are there so many accused?
A special commission of IBU experts must review McLaren's materials in relation to specific athletes, which begins work immediately. Its primary task is to make a decision on the biathletes of the Russian national team who are currently competing in international competitions. According to Besseberg, a decision on them will be made within a week. Athletes found guilty will no longer participate in the next stage of the World Cup, which will take place after the New Year.
31 biathletes - this number is amazing. However, Besseberg himself emphasized that we are not talking only about top-level athletes. “There are three groups of athletes on this list: active biathletes, those who have already completed their careers, and those who are not listed in our database. They have never started at international competitions,” TASS quotes the IBU head.
That is, we can say with a high degree of confidence that the list contains biathletes who competed only in domestic Russian competitions, where they were caught doping and suspended by the decision of the Russian sports authorities.
This, however, does not improve the situation much. Even if there are a majority of them, the picture still appears bleak.
Who came under suspicion?
The “McLaren report” does not indicate the names of the athletes; they are indicated by a numerical code. McLaren's documents contain the "Duchess" file - a supposed list of athletes who were supposed to take the so-called "Rodchenkov cocktail" indicating the dates of their starts at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
This information allows you to calculate who exactly may be hiding under a digital code in a given case. The Sports.ru portal in the material “Which of the Sochi medalists drank Rodchenkov’s cocktail” lists biathletes among the alleged defendants Olga Zaitseva, Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova. All of them completed their sports careers.
In addition, a comparison of documents allows us to add to the list at least two Russian women who are part of the current Russian national team.
However, it must be emphasized once again that the lists of the accused have not been officially disclosed and will not be disclosed. The IBU will only announce the names of those who will be suspended.
How will the Russians be punished?
Those who are on the list have little chance of acquittal. In this case, guilt is determined not by general civil law, but in accordance with the WADA Code, the provisions of which allow the athlete to be punished not only in the presence of irrefutable evidence, but also in the presence of suspicions that experts consider sufficiently significant.
Anton Shipulin, who in recent years has become the main figure of Russian biathlon, its calling card, does not appear either directly or indirectly on any list of suspects. And in general, today, according to the information that is available, there is a clear bias towards women - “suspects”. And this is all the more strange given the fact that women’s results have been steadily trending downward in recent years.
Those found guilty face disqualification ranging from several years to lifelong ban from biathlon. Given the current situation, those who now fall under the IBU’s “axe” are unlikely to ever return to the sport.
But no matter how cruel it sounds, punishing individual athletes is not the worst thing. If at least 2-3 active athletes are on the suspended lists (and everything suggests that this is the case), the question of suspending the Russian Biathlon Union as a whole may inevitably arise.
There are already precedents - Russian weightlifters, track and field athletes and Paralympic athletes are “resting” in full force. In these conditions, making a decision to expel biathletes is a piece of cake. If such a decision is made, Russia will, of course, lose the right to host all international competitions.
However, deprivation of these competitions can occur even if the sanctions are not complete.
“We need to prepare for the worst”
Four-time Olympic champion in biathlon Alexander Tikhonov, who headed the SBR from 1996 to 2008, in an interview with Match TV, said: “I agree 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. Our system employs people who are already covered in moss, and there is no high-quality sports medicine. I cannot say where this data about 31 biathletes comes from. What we have is a complete lack of information, no defense of our interests in biathlon.”
Tikhonov is known for his controversial statements, but we must admit that it is difficult to argue with him regarding the possibility of defending the interests of Russian athletes. Today they are, figuratively speaking, at the firing line. There is no clear system for protecting their interests. Actually, this applies not only to biathletes, but to everyone who is subject to sanctions because of the “McLaren report.” In the best traditions of 1937, international sports officials punish both the right and the wrong. And the athletes can only pray and believe that the “black funnel” will not come for them.“Let's take off the rose-colored glasses. We need to prepare for the worst, and we are all guaranteed a bad result next week. There is no need to say which one. Besseberg spoke in a very veiled manner about the possibility of some decisions of the special commission next week on Thursday, but now the participation of the national team, the holding of the Junior World Championship in Ostrov, Pskov region, the World Cup stage in Tyumen is a big question mark,” said on Match TV “the voice of Russian biathlon” Dmitry Guberniev.
Last tour?
Foreign athletes have differing opinions regarding what is happening. Majority led by World Cup leader Martin Fourcade demand the disqualification of Russians, threatening otherwise a boycott of international competitions.
And here is the legendary Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, husband of our almost compatriot Daria Domracheva, “To me, they are all “clean” until proven guilty. If even 10 percent of the information on the list is true, then this is a disaster. But first I want to see the evidence. As long as they compete, I hope they are innocent."
For this alone it is worth saying “thank you” to Bjoerndalen. But anyone who wants to cheer for Russian biathletes should not miss the races of the World Cup stage taking place these days in the Czech Nove Mesto. It is possible that this is the last chance to see Russians at international competitions in the coming years.
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 so bad 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)
Published 12/23/16 12:05A LIST of 31 Russian biathletes mentioned in the McLaren Commission report has been released
vid_roll_width="300px" vid_roll_height="150px">A list of 31 biathletes from Russia whom the IBU suspects of doping has leaked online. A file with alleged persons on Richard McLaren's list was published by the Italian website NeveItalia.
The document mentions about 40 Russian athletes, contains the results of their doping tests, the place where the test was taken, the result that came to WADA (everywhere it is negative - that is why Russia is accused of substituting samples), and Grigory Rodchenkov’s comments from the correspondence published along with the second part Richard McLaren's report, Life reports.
The list is a selection of Russian biathletes, information intkbbee about which WADA has information, but not only those suspected of doping. So, the best Russian biathlete Anton Shipulin is on the list, but there are no marks next to his name in the “substance found” column.
There are comments about the presence of doping next to the names of members of the Russian national team Ekaterina Shumilova and Ekaterina Glazyrina, who appear in the McLaren report under numbers A0714 and A0241, respectively.
Among the Russian biathletes, Yana Romanova, Olga Zaitseva and Olga Vilukhina were also noted, who competed at the Olympics in Sochi and came second in the relay (Vilukhina also won silver in the sprint). Of the men on the list, Timofey Lapshin is mentioned, who is not involved in the World Cup this season due to health problems. Later, rumors appeared in the media that Lapshin wanted to obtain South Korean citizenship.
The IBU made a decision on Russia: Russia abandoned the Biathlon World Cup stage
The Executive Committee of the International Biathlon Union decided to move the Biathlon World Cup from Tyumen, as well as to change the venue of the Junior World Championship, which was to be held in Ostrov. The IBU also temporarily suspended two Russian biathletes from competitions, whose names were mentioned in the report of the WADA commission led by Richard McLaren, RT reports.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation for Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy Vitaly Mutko, the IBU made a balanced decision in relation to Russia: “A balanced decision was made that allows us to draw conclusions calmly, not on abstract statements and conclusions of one person. The most important thing is that our athletes will continue to perform at the World Cup stages. The RBU and anti-doping services have done a tremendous job to ensure that Russian biathlon is clean and meets international requirements; sweeping accusations and collective responsibility should become a thing of the past. I think if all federations do this, we will see that the first part, associated with thousand lists, should crumble.”
The Russian Biathlon Union refused to hold the Biathlon World Cup in Tyumen this season, as well as to organize the world championship among youth and juniors in Ostrov, writes Gazeta.ru.
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. Now the biathlon family can focus on biathlon while the investigation continues.”
