Convicted in arranging the attempted murder of a regional governor in 2000, Alexander Tikhonov is never dull. One of the best biathletes of all time, he hopes to return to the international spotlight by becoming IBU President. Canada's Jim Carrabre is also taking on Anders Besseberg, who has held the position since 1993.
In a letter to the Russian Biathlon Union, Irina Starykh confirmed that the IBU had notified her of a positive "A" sample. She resigned from the team until the situation is clarified, and also so that she could attend the opening of the "B" sample. Meanwhile, Alexander Tikhonov points out that a doctor sacked in 2009 after a doping scandal was re-hired this year, and was present on the World Cup circuit.
After hearing fantastical tales in the 1970s of what it was like to race in the Soviet Union, Bill Frank set out to discover why fans there were so biathlon-crazy. The answers have much to do with the debacle of the 1939 Winter War, where the Soviets were turned back by Finnish ski troopers, and that the biathlon relay was about as Marxist an athletic event as you could find.