Three-time world champion, Olympic bronze medalist Maxim Chudov called expected the proposal of the Executive Committee of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) to extend the suspension of the membership of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) and the Belarusian Biathlon Federation (BFB) in the organization.
On Tuesday, the IBU Executive Committee recommended to Congress to extend the suspension of RBU and ESB membership in the organization due to the situation in Ukraine. The Executive Committee believes that the lifting of sanctions is possible if organizations demonstrate a commitment to support and promote the aims and principles of the IBU, in particular, distance themselves from the conflict in Ukraine and do not allow athletes to actively participate to the actions of the Russian army.
The decision is not what was expected. But we had to prepare for it. It’s not easy for them to open doors for us. They play their game, it’s probably comfortable for them to play without the Russian athletes. As for the international level, without our huge strong country, it will of course be weaker.
– Anfisa Reztsova, for example, hopes that we will still be allowed to participate in the World Cup. There are more pessimistic positions. Which do you follow?
I have my own post. I can say the following. Every athlete, every coach has hope that the IBU will awaken to common sense. And the competition would be of high quality, with the participation of all countries. But, alas, desires with opportunities differ at this time. However, we are waiting for the competition to finally become full-fledged.
– Are you, as a former athlete, very worried about our guys in this situation?
– Of course, I worry about our athletes. After all, an athlete is a person completely devoted to his beloved work. It’s like a milling machine who studied his craft for a long time, and they took the machine from him and took it away. There is probably a similar situation here. For many athletes, sport is the only favorite thing. And now everything is broken. I’m not even taking the financial side of things right now. It’s just that a person, a professional, is deprived of the only thing he knows how to do. In this regard, it is difficult.
– What can be done to overcome this period of suspensions as painlessly as possible?
– The dog barks, the caravan advances. As far as I know, training is underway, preparations are underway. The only thing is that the competitions are held only at the national level. Of course, there are leaders, there are those who follow them. But without international competition, it’s difficult. Either way, you have to practice. These works will not be in vain, – Rossiyskaya Gazeta quotes Chudov.
On March 2, the IBU suspended Russians and Belarusians from participating in competitions under the auspices of the organization. On March 29, the IBU suspended the membership of RRF and ESB.
russian newspaper
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
