The target in Russia is closed: foreigners will not participate in the biathlon Commonwealth Cup

Before the biathlon season – by hand, that is, skiing, has not yet been filed. But the start is not far off either: the new season starts already in September with the Commonwealth Cup stage in Sochi (from 5 to 11 September). While it will be summer biathlon, not skis, but rollerskis.

The Commonwealth Cup in the last season of suspension from international starts became like a parallel reality: somewhere there is the World Cup, we have the Commonwealth Cup. Let not an equivalent, but effective and quite spectacular reality. The format created due to circumstances justified itself. And it would be possible, of course, to expand the representation of tournaments.

But it seems that we are denied even the thought of joint competitions with someone other than the excluded Belarusians. We are not allowed anywhere, but no one is allowed to visit us either. There is already an example – Uzbekistan, which, to put it mildly, does not claim to be a leader in the world biathlon. (Although someone remembers how in the past decade Uzbekistan had a breakthrough in summer biathlon, even with medals at the European and World Championships.) The national team of this country would like to compete in the Commonwealth Summer Cup.

Why Uzbek biathletes wanted to participate in our Cup is not a question. Chinese and Mongolian athletes, for example, as they said last year, also had plans to expand the Cup. For them, our tracks and joint starts are a serious practice and experience. The question rested and rests precisely on this: how will the IBU react?

A request from the RRF to the IBU regarding the participation of Uzbekistan was sent. Not for the sake of reinsurance, but following the rules: the participation of athletes from three or more countries in competitions requires coordination with the International Biathlon Union. Ignore the rules? And at some point we will have to come back.

And now, as President of the Russian Biathlon Union Viktor Maigurov said, the IBU warned the RBU about possible violations due to the participation of other teams in the Commonwealth Cup. So far, however, clarification is required: on whose side the violations, the organizers – that is, the RRF, or those who come from the same Uzbekistan?

However, this is just not so important, because no matter who you punish, the result will be the same: new athletes cannot come. Our Commonwealth Cup last season was not bad. And, of course, a tournament of this level could be expanded and expanded. But the International Biathlon Union took a really tough stance. And this, of course, is not a fear of competition with the World Cup (although under other conditions for the formation of participants, everything would be possible). This is something that head of world athletics, Coe, says blatantly (“I can’t be neutral”). Here is the IBU – it cannot and does not want to.

And such politicization is very pleasant, for example, to the officials of Ukraine. The National Biathlon Federation is already calling on international sports federations to exclude Russia and Belarus from the organizations altogether. At the same time, he cites the IBU as a worthy example, which suspended the membership of the Russian Biathlon Union and the Belarusian Biathlon Federation. Like, it is necessary not only to ban the athletes of the two countries from participating in competitions, but also to expel their federations from international unions everywhere, to deprive them of their rights and international conferences, as the IBU did by suspending membership.

And what you can’t argue with here is the IBU’s unwillingness to allow athletes who are suspended from international starts to somehow build a competitive cycle in a new way. The President of the Russian Biathlon Union says that today the head biathlon organization is not thinking about admitting Russian athletes to competitions. And they don’t think about the status of the return. There is a dialogue with the IBU, but the result is still the same: “they answer that they have no reason to return us to competitions. There is no question of even a neutral status.”

Our teams are preparing for the season. The group of coach Mikhail Shashilov is currently training in Raubichi. Artem Istomin’s group chose Tyumen in August. And coaches Yuri Kaminsky and Sergei Bashkirov are there. And juniors with coach Vladimir Bragin are training in Sochi.

Viktor Maigurov believes that for the strongest biathletes of the two countries, of course, it is very important to return to international tracks not in the Olympic season, but earlier. And the idea is clear: the return is necessary in itself, but its timing is also important. After all, there are Olympic quotas that need to be earned. And everyone sees what is happening today with quotas for Paris 2024 in summer sports: and in some sports there is simply no way to get them, there is still no admission to tournaments.

And the prospects for the return of our biathletes are like everyone else, according to the RRF. Viktor Maygurov emphasizes that the ROC, the Ministry of Sports and the state “in general aim to ensure that our athletes are allowed to enter without any restrictions as soon as possible,” because “there were no violations on the part of the ROC, the Ministry of Sports and Russian athletes.”

Competition calendar

Commonwealth Cup – September 5-11, Sochi

Championship of Russia – September 14-20, Tyumen

Russian Cup, 1st stage – November 23-27, Khanty-Mansiysk

Russian Cup, 2nd stage – November 28 – December 4, Khanty-Mansiysk

Russian Cup, 3rd stage – December 5-11, Tyumen

Commonwealth Cup – December 12-18, Ufa

Commonwealth Cup – January 3-8, Raubichi

Russian Championship – January 9-15, Tchaikovsky

Russian Cup, 4th stage – January 16-22, Izhevsk

Spartakiad of the strongest athletes of Russia – February 9-19, Zlatoust

Cup of Russia, 5th stage, Final – February 27 – March 4, Ufa

Russian Championship – March 21 – April 1, Tyumen

Russian Championship – April 2-6, Uvat

Commonwealth Cup – April