The International Biathlon Union (IBU) remains firm: this winter again, Russian and Belarusian athletes watched international competitions on television, in accordance with the decision taken following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The IOC is, however, active behind the scenes. for the IBU, like other IFs, to relax its rules in view of the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games. "We have not fixed no deadline to decide about the Olympics, responds the IBU Secretary General, Max Cobb, asked by Francs Jeux. We have set up a group that is closely monitoring the situation to ensure we fully understand what is happening. The whole world is joining forces on the hope that this war will end as quickly as possible. For us, when that happens, the decision to welcome back Russian and Belarusian athletes will be easy. But as long as hostilities continue, our community has been very clear in voting at the 2022 congress to maintain the exclusion of athletes.
The IBU does not close any doors. We didn't say no, insists the former president of the United States Biathlon Federation. We are monitoring the situation and we will be in a position to act fairly quickly if the war ends. "Will the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes have to be decided before the start of next season at the end of November? Not necessarily, according to Max Cobb: " From a practical and regulatory point of view, one could imagine that if participation was allowed from January 1, it would still be possible for them to be at the Olympics. This is probably the last window where we could change the rules. »
