Russian and Belarusian biathletes are automatically deprived of the right to participate in international competitions in the 2024/25 season, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) reported.
The issue of reestablishing the national federations of the Russian Federation and Belarus and allowing athletes to compete was not even included on the agenda of the IBU Congress in Belgrade.
“The 2022 resolution of Congress will remain. This means that Russian athletes will not participate in the competition. “There is no provision in the IBU rules for athletes to participate in a neutral state.” – the organization told TASS.
Recall that Russian and Belarusian biathletes have been deprived of the opportunity to compete in IBU competitions since March 2022 and membership in their national federations has also been suspended.
Four-time Olympic champion Alexander Tikhonov reacted to the IBU decision:
“We are always looking for the culprits. And the fault is ours alone, write it down. Even before the sanctions, during Kushchenko and Maygurova They fired us for doping. When can we expect some changes? When we finish the Northern Military District and we will be the same giants as the United States. Until then there will be no changes. So the fault is ours alone, in all aspects.”
Two-time Olympic champion Dmitry Vasiliev He was not silent either:
“The first question is: has the SBR (Russian Biathlon Union) done anything to raise this issue? I do not know specific information, but since the topic was not even on the agenda, we can conclude that the FRR did not show activity and efficiency. There is no hope that the IBU will make that decision on its own. There is a meeting of Russophobes there.
If just a big guy upstairs hits you in the head, then they’ll race to take back Russia. But in any case you have to work. In due time with Mikhail Prokhorov It was a positive experience attracting followers to our position. This is what the SBR needs to do.”
Meanwhile, today, September 28, EADaily reported that similar measures had been taken against Russian skiers, who were being totally persecuted.
And this is what the three-time Olympic champion, president of the Russian Cross-Country Federation, thinks about it. Elena Vyalbe:
“I’ll probably say things that maybe shouldn’t be said at all. It seems to me that if we had dropped a major bomb in the center of London, it would all be over by now and we would have been allowed in everywhere.
Russia’s struggle with the entire outside world has continued for centuries. They never loved us, even when they pretended to let us go everywhere, they still didn’t love us. They always have a sharpening point on their back. I love it when a country is strong and, probably, our strength is the irritation of the whole world.
No need to guess. Sooner or later, of course, they’ll let you in anyway. They also have nowhere to go, because this can’t happen forever. About a year ago I said that at the end of the SVO. “Now I understand that even after the end of the SVO, nothing will happen quickly.”
