Good or bad news ? Between the two, undoubtedly. Dismissed for almost a year for having endorsed a widespread doping system, the Russian Biathlon Federation (RBU) now knows the rules to respect to regain its place on the scene. They are severe.
A delegation from the International Biathlon Federation (IBU) traveled to Moscow this week to work on the issue. Thursday, November 15, its members returned their copy. It has 12 criteria to be fulfilled by Russian biathlon, not one less, before being able to close the parenthesis of the darkest episode in its history.
As a reminder, the RBU was demoted in December 2017 to the rank of a common provisional member of the IBU. Its athletes are not directly affected, but its leaders are banned from any official function and the country cannot claim to organize international events.
Among the criteria written in black and white, nothing is really insurmountable. But the accumulation of demands says a lot about the desire of the IBU and its new president, the Swede Olle Dahlin, to show firmness. Let us cite, in general, the development of an anti-doping control program for Russian biathletes, the reimbursement of the costs generated by the affair, the establishment of a doping prevention plan, access to the database of data from the Moscow laboratory and, finally, full cooperation in investigations into past violations of anti-doping legislation.
Comment from Olle Dahlin: “ The criteria will ensure that the RBU has effective structures in place to prevent problems of the past from recurring in the future. They reflect the absolute need to protect clean athletes and ensure a level playing field. There is still work to be done, before full reintegration at the Extraordinary IBU Congress in 2019.”
The road is still long for Russian biathlon. But, at least, its leaders know the route.
