“We don’t know at the moment whether we can still start where,” says Gösweiner, whose athletes are meanwhile awaiting things in Ramsau am Dachstein.
On Saturday, the biathlon world association IBU announced sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian ski hunters in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Accordingly, both flags may no longer be displayed at the competition venues, team clothing must be kept neutral without national colors, and there are also no points for the national ranking. In response, the Russian association has already announced that it will no longer compete.
Actually, the World Cup should have continued in Kontiolahti, Finland, from Thursday. Gösweiner and his team should no longer be welcome there either. Even before that, Otepää had announced as the penultimate station that Russian and Belarusian athletes would not be allowed to enter the country. Oslo, as the organizer of the World Cup final, is also considering this step.
Ukraine’s Dmytro Pidruchnyi, former world pursuit champion, isn’t even thinking about competition anymore. “My team and I remain in Ukraine to protect our homes and families from Russian forces,” he wrote in a dramatic message on Instagram. Gösweiner is also dismayed: “Our sport is no longer really important.” (free)
Source: Nachrichten
