police investigation related to accepting Russian bribes in exchange for concealing Russian biathlon doping cases. Secretary General Nicole Resch was suspended as a result of the scandal as well, but both have denied any wrongdoing, according to Inside The Games. The IBU’s board and committee elections will be conducted Sept. 5-9 at the 13th Regular IBU Congress in Porec, Croatia. Two current North American board members, Dr. Jim Carrabre of Biathlon Canada (who according to...
Note: This article has been updated with information about bribes as reported by Le Monde on Wednesday. Austrian police raided the headquarters of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) in Salzburg on Tuesday night and into Wednesday. released a statement on Wednesday, revealing that the search was part of an investigation into President Anders Besseberg and Secretary General Nicole Resch. Resch has taken an immediate leave of absence, and Executive Director Martin Kuchenmeister has taken over as...
In December, Biathlon Canada announced that after the men’s relay at the Olympics on Friday. “Our President, Anders Besseberg… at every turn when he has the chance to defend clean sport, he has turned the other way. And it’s not fair to clean athletes. The latest decision by the IBU was to send the World Cup tour to Tyumen, Russia, for our World Cup final. Team USA is boycotting. The Czech team is boycotting. Canada...
FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Concept2, cleared 28 Russian athletes of doping charges. Many people seemed shocked by this development. The athletes had been disqualified from the 2014 Games by an International Olympic Committee (IOC) Commission. This was after more than 18 months of buildup in which the world learnt of systematic manipulation of the anti-doping process by the Russian state security apparatus at those Olympics. I was both shocked, and not shocked. When all...
On Dec. 10, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Russia’s participation at the 2018 Winter Games. Despite the RBU’s less-than-full IBU member status, Russia is still scheduled to host the final IBU World Cup races of the season from March 20-25 in Tyumen and the IBU Cup 7 & 8 in Uvat and Khanty-Mansiysk. In an open letter sent to IBU President Anders Besseberg and IBU Secretary General Nicole Resch dated Dec. 8, 2017, Biathlon Canada’s President...
this more in-depth article on the open letter for some detailed context before listening to this podcast episode. Here’s some of the key info from that piece: On Dec. 10,Russia’s participation at the 2018 Winter Games. Despite the RBU’s less-than-full IBU member status, Russia is still scheduled to host the final IBU World Cup races of the season from March 20-25 in Tyumen and IBU Cup 7 & 8 in Uvat and Khanty-Mansiysk. In an...
A common refrain is emerging from teams embroiled in sports doping scandals: that they are being unfairly persecuted, because other countries are engaging in ‘legalized doping’ by way of Therapeutic Use Exemptions. TUE’s, as they are called, allow athletes with documented health issues to use some medications that would otherwise be prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Some common examples are asthma inhalers, glucocorticoids to treat injuries, and, for American athletes, medication to treat attention...
After an Executive Board meeting today to discuss doping in Russia, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) has provisionally suspended two athletes. The federation opened anti-doping investigations into 29 more. Meanwhile, the Russian Biathlon Union voluntarily gave up their hosting rights for two events: 2017 Youth and Junior World Championships, slated for Ostrov, and a World Cup stage slated for Tyumen. Two Suspensions from the 30+ Cases The IOC has jurisdiction over all anti-doping activity at Olympic...
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has received a list of 31 Russian athletes involved in doping, IBU President Anders Besseberg told Norway’s VG newspaper. The information came from Besseberg said. “I reckon that we on the board will make recommendations within a week… of those athletes who the Committee believes should be provisionally excluded.” Some information about the athletes, however, can already be gleaned from the McLaren report. For example, one document in the Evidence...
Neither good news or athlete's names were released this morning as part of WADA's publishing of it's second McLaren Report: the investigation into systematic Russian Doping.
With the number of athletes testing positive at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics now topping 100 and the second part of the McLaren report into state-sponsored doping in Russia dropping within a month, WADA agreed to a new system of sanctions for countries who do not comply with the World Anti-Doping Code. International Ski Federation President Gian Franco Kasper did not like it.
Although the IOC said in July that Russia should not host any international winter sports events due to their systematic doping violations and cheating at the 2014 Olympics, it apparently walked those guidelines back -- and now Russia has been awarded biathlon World Championships, despite the fact that the country is not currently in compliance with the WADA Code.
As Ukrainian biathlete Olga Abramova waived her "B" sample and proceeds to a doping hearing panel, the IBU has found another positive test for the same hormone, mildronate. Plus, IBU VP Jim Carrabre wants to re-analyze testing results from the Sochi Olympics. IBU President Anders Besseberg thinks it's unnecessary, while Russia asserts that the IBU has no jurisdiction.
The Norwegian men aren't psyched about traveling to North America for World Cups next season, saying that World Championships afterwards are more important. Max Cobb, the head of the IBU's Technical Committee, points out that there are two and a half weeks of free training time before World Champs. For the Norwegians, that might not be enough.
Sergui Sednev of Ukraine is the latest athlete to be caught in the International Biathlon Union's re-testing of suspicious anti-doping samples from seasons past. At stake are two seasons' worth of results. All of the old samples have now been tested, but it's unclear whether more suspensions are still to come - a month passed between the analytical result in Sednev's case and the release of his name.
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.
FIS Anti-Doping Coordinator Sarah Fussek says that her federation is in the very early stages of harmonizing their Athlete Biological Passport testing protocol with other winter sports federations, with a possible end result of the IOC taking over all testing at the Olympics. This would allow FIS to do more testing at other events in Olympic years.
IBU President Anders Besseberg explained to FasterSkier that he is "harmonizing" the blood screening procedures at Olympic Games between biathlon, skiing, and speedskating, and then the IOC will take over all administration of the tests. But his claims that VP for Medical Issues Jim Carrabre never contacted him about the issue is false, as e-mails shared by Carrabre show that he did try to ask the president why the decision was taken.
The International Biathlon Union's Executive board voted last month to discontinue its blood testing at the Olympic Games, meaning that the Athlete Biological Passport program will no longer be implemented there. The decision was taken without consulting the organization's Medical Committee, and the IBU has not offered an explanation to its members.
The International Biathlon Union handed provisional sanctions to three athletes who tested positive for banned substances. Russian website Championat is alleging that two are Ekaterina Iourieva, a 2008 World Champion who has already served one doping ban for EPO; and Irina Starykh, currently the top-ranked Russian woman. Across the biathlon world, athletes expressed frustration and dismay.