WADA provided the IBU with a list of names. WADA provided the IBU with a list of names of those involved in the case

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.

A LIST of 31 Russian biathletes mentioned in the McLaren Commission report has been released

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.”

Elena Dyachkova, specially for RIA Novosti Ukraine

Two-time Olympic champion, member of the RBU council Anatoly Alyabyev 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, and there will probably be one", Alyabyev believes.

“I don’t think that any measures can come into force 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 in relation to Russia.

"The IBU will follow common sense, because there are reasonable people there. For example, Anders Besseberg, who is not a supporter of radical measures. I hope that he will not allow the madness that has happened now in bobsleigh and skeleton. I think the IBU will not act on unproven reasons to react so radically", 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 Prokhorova, 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"- said Tikhonov.

“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", added the Olympic champion.

The races in Nove Mesto begin in the evening, but the main news of yesterday broke during the day. The IBU President spoke about the shocking list of 31 Russian biathletes who are suspected of doping during the professor's investigation Richard McLaren. Neither

names or the number of active athletes were not named, and Besseberg himself and his American deputy Max Cobb. They say we will judge, but according to the law. The reaction of biathlon leaders seemed forced. They spoke because they could not remain silent in the current situation, and not out of a desire to wave their swords in all directions.

By evening, more or less clear details appeared. The IBU commission studying McLaren's report held its first meeting. During the investigation, it turned out that the accused biathletes are divided into three groups: those who have already been punished, those who have finished their careers, and those who continue to compete. The next meeting is due to take place on December 22, and based on its results the first decisions will be announced. If the accusations against current athletes turn out to be serious enough, they will be suspended until all the circumstances are clarified.

However, personal punishments are only the tip of the iceberg. Everyone is interested in what sanctions the entire Russian biathlon may be subject to. Besseberg stressed that he could deprive Russia of all international competitions, including the World Cup scheduled for this year in Tyumen and the Junior World Championships in Ostrov. The head of the IBU did not answer a direct question about the possibility of disqualifying the entire Russian team, including clean athletes, but emphasized that this is a very hypothetical and theoretical question and.

Magic numbers

But even these general words were enough for rumors to spread around the press center about the disqualification of the entire Russian biathlon. The number 31, of course, is frightening and impressive, but for now there is no need to think about the universal scale of the catastrophe. More correct than all my colleagues. And he’s right, you first need to prove guilt, and only then draw conclusions, and not try to immediately lynch unwanted Russians.

Considering that over the past six years, about 15 biathletes and several people at the international level have been disqualified within Russia alone, one must understand that the scale of the disaster is greatly exaggerated.

Secondly, many, even in the biathlon world, thought that we were talking about new facts regarding 31 active Russian biathletes. In this situation, both the main and reserve teams and even athletes from the Russian Cup would be under attack. But in order to better understand the situation, you need to remember that McLaren does not separate flies from cutlets and puts both already investigated doping cases and new circumstances in one basket. Considering that over the past six years, about 15 biathletes and several people at the international level have been disqualified within Russia alone, one must understand that the scale of the disaster is greatly exaggerated. One can recall several Russian shooters who appeared in his table, who, as it turned out when the case was considered by the international federation, had already been punished, and therefore there were no problems with the team’s admission to the 2016 Olympics.

This is exactly what I tried to convey to my foreign colleagues. Former French biathlete and now journalist Alexis Boeuf I listened to these arguments with interest and understanding, but wanted specifics. “You don’t know which athletes we’re talking about? Is Shipulin among them? - asked the Frenchman. All that remained was to remind him that the basis of the current Russian national team are young athletes who joined the team after the period under study, and therefore we can hardly expect mass revelations. And if Shipulin had been on the list of suspects, his name would have been the first from Rodchenkov’s lips, as happened with his less popular, but significant colleagues for Russia.

Any questions?

Usually all biathlon press conferences are quite academic. The presenter asks two or three questions to the participants, after which he addresses the audience. In 99 percent of cases, no additional questions arise and all journalists approach the athletes for individual interviews. But this time, with Anton’s arrival, it became hot in the hall and at the end of the official part, a forest of hands rose. However, the situation cannot be compared with the Olympic hysteria in Rio. The German colleagues who set the tone were correct in their formulations, and most importantly did not elevate Anton himself to the rank of suspect.

Our leader also behaved with dignity and asked to wait for evidence, not to interfere with sports and politics, and emphasized that he was not worried about himself, but about Russian fans, who could be deprived of the biathlon festival. There was no panic in Shipulin’s words or gaze. Russian biathlon continues to live its own life and hope for a fair verdict from the International Biathlon Union. The absence of hysteria, mutual respect and the principles of the presumption of innocence, which the biathlon family has preserved, allow us to remain moderately optimistic. If, of course, this word is even applicable in the current situation.

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)