The men’s 12.5 km pursuit race will be held as part of the third stage of the Alfa-Bank Commonwealth Biathlon Cup in Tchaikovsky (Perm Territory) on Saturday, December 20.

The race will start at 09:00 Moscow time. The live broadcast will be available from 08:35 on the Match TV and Match! Arena”, as well as the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.

60 athletes will compete at the start of the pursuit. Olympic bronze medalists Eduard Latypov and Alexander Loginov, as well as Daniil Serohvostov, Karim Khalili, Alexander Povarnitsyn, Kirill Bazhin and other Russian biathletes will take part in the race. Belarus will be represented by the silver medalist of the Games Anton Smolsky, Stepan Danilov, Maxim Vorobey, Gleb Orlovsky, Alexander Golyak, Nikita Lobastov and Ivan Tulatin.

The third stage of the Commonwealth Cup will end on December 21.

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The admission of Russian athletes in luge, bobsleigh, skeleton and, of course, cross-country skiing gave hope that in other sports everything will soon improve. Moreover, the appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) were generally identical and ended equally well for our country.

However, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) categorically does not want to return the Russians and goes to any lengths to delay this process as much as possible.

The most negatively disposed federation towards Russia

It has long been no secret that of the winter sports, biathlon is the most negatively disposed towards Russians. The IBU leadership doesn’t even try too hard to hide this, regularly making it clear that they are not interested in admitting our athletes. However, they could hardly have expected that Russia would win several cases in a row in CAS in other disciplines and get the opportunity to compete on the international stage.

The shell fell especially close to the cross-country biathlon, where a week ago the long-awaited return of our guys took place. So far, these are only Saveliy Korostelev and Daria Nepryaeva, but the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) notes that the list of neutral athletes may gradually increase. In fact, athletes in alpine skiing and snowboarding are already receiving access.

The IBU in this sense is a related organization. It is logical to ask the question why Russian skiers can compete, but biathletes cannot? After all, the events take place in approximately the same countries, so the reason is solely in the leadership of the two organizations. If the FIS really was at least not against the return of Russia, then the IBU is a different story. However, even there they could not do anything with the CAS decision.

The Russian Biathlon Union nevertheless filed an appeal against the IBU for not allowing athletes in neutral status. Considering the experience of other federations, a positive outcome could have been expected. Another point was that everything had to be done in an accelerated format in order to try to qualify for the Olympic Games in Milan. Unlike skiing, in biathlon this can be done at the January World Cup stages. Actually, the head of the RBU, Viktor Maigurov, spoke about this in an interview with Match TV.

Victor Maigurov / Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

Explanations from the IBU

However, today it became known that the IBU completely abandoned this option and refused to Russia. This was confirmed by the head of the SBR press service, Sergei Averyanov, on his social networks and by commentator Dmitry Guberniev on Match TV. The IBU responded very quickly. The press secretary of the International Biathlon Union, Christian Winkler, tried to explain the organization’s position.

— Indeed, the IBU did not agree to an accelerated procedure for considering the arbitration claim. Regarding youth competitions, the IBU has taken note of the recommendation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Committee and will review it. As the IOC has made clear, the application of these recommendations depends on the regulations of each international federation. Thus, at the moment, the position of the IBU, for which the IBU Congress voted democratically, remains in force,” Winkler told Match TV.

In general, they again tried to create true discrimination, because, apparently, CAS was not averse to doing everything quickly and efficiently. If you look at the situation objectively, then in essence there is nothing special to consider. If in similar cases with lugers, skiers and others the same decision was made, then here too everything should be transparent. The input data is absolutely identical.

Dmitry Guberniev / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Pavel Bednyakov

“The largest concentration of Russophobes on the planet”

Of course, the IBU understood this all too well. Therefore, they made an attempt to delay the process. If the return of the Russians to the World Cup is inevitable, then at least spoiling our attempt to qualify for the Olympics has become a minimum task for them. And it seems that they can cope with it, because CAS cannot yet say exactly when they will make the final decision. And the point here is not the desire of the court, it’s just that in addition to the appeal of the SBI, they have many more cases under consideration, which are in the order of priority.

There is very little time left before Catholic Christmas, so there is a risk that everything will drag on until at least the beginning or even mid-January.

“If CAS decides in our favor, and everything indicates that this will happen, then the IBU will put a spoke in our wheels. It will be very interesting how they will react to the IOC recommendations to admit young people. Let’s say you are prejudiced towards adults, but what does it have to do with children? All requests have been sent, the IBU is silent. Let’s see how long this disgusting policy will continue. After we return, it will be possible to sue them and further demand compensation,” Guberniev told Match TV.

— I have already said many times that the IBU will be the last organization that will return Russian athletes to the international arena. There are so many Russophobes gathered there, this is the largest concentration of Russophobes on the planet. They will allow children because the IOC recommended so. They will not agree to confrontation with them. Now their task is to finally spoil us and not let us into the Olympics. Starting next year, everything will be restored, I have no doubt, so this is their last opportunity to show their essence,” added two-time Olympic champion Dmitry Vasiliev in an interview with Match TV.

In reality, the IBU really doesn’t have many options left to fight the return of the Russians. This should happen next year one way or another. I would really like to see our guys at the Olympics, and while there are at least small chances left, we must fight in court for this opportunity. The International Biathlon Union will not be able to go against CAS even with a strong desire.

Alina Stremous feels more and more confident on the main biathlon stage. In the sprint at the third stage of the World Cup in Annecy, France, the Moldovan biathlete took 16th place – the best result this season.

Most recently, the former Russian woman stood on the podium in the IBU Cup races. An excellent start to the season from the former Russian athlete.

Clean shooting and impressive results

In the sprint race in France, Stremous worked flawlessly on both shooting ranges and was 1 minute 5.5 seconds behind the winner. 16th place was her best result of the season at the World Cup and a logical continuation of gradual progress.

The race turned out differently for the Moldavian team. Alena Makarova, who also moved to the Moldavian team from Russia, finished only 100th, having made three mistakes. This is the penultimate result among all participants.

Alina Stremous / Photo: © Kevin Voigt / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Even at the previous stage of the World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, Stremous showed that she could compete with the leaders. In the 10 km pursuit race, she took 18th place, completing the distance in 30 minutes 7.5 seconds and demonstrating her trademark precision at the boundaries. In the 7.5 km sprint within the same stage, the Moldovan biathlete finished 25th. At the same time, Stromous missed the first stage of the World Cup in Östersund, so she is gaining shape as the season progresses.

Stromous has already won medals this season

Alina also managed to compete in the races of the second most important world biathlon competition. At the first stage of the IBU Cup in Obertilliach, Stromous won silver in the 7.5 km sprint. She came second among 125 participants. Perfect shooting was again key.

In the second sprint race, Alina finished 19th with two penalties, and in the pursuit race she took 13th place, making five mistakes on four stages. At the end of the stage, she was sixth in the IBU Cup rankings, gaining 125 points.

Alina Stremous / Photo: © Jasmin Walter / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The 30-year-old athlete is gradually accustoming biathlon fans to her surname at the top of the protocol. Her progress deserves special attention in connection with the upcoming Olympics. With perfect shooting and a successful set of circumstances, Stremous is capable of at least finishing in the top 10 in one of the races. And a medal, say, in an individual race no longer seems incredible.

Alina Stremous was born in Russia, but since 2020 she has represented Moldova. She already has experience of performing at the highest level: last season at the World Cup in Kontiolahti, the biathlete took 15th place in the sprint – this is her best result in the elite. Stremous also has the titles of European champion and vice-champion.

To Alina’s credit, it should be noted that the girl changed her sports citizenship without scandals or anti-Russian statements. She was unable to win the competition in the Russian national team, and the then biathlon leaders did not interfere with her transition. Stremous’ level of results is far from multiple Olympic champion Anastasia Kuzmina, and she cannot be called a world biathlon superstar. But Alina’s dedication to the sport and gradual progress force her to treat her successes with respect and sympathy.