The World Biathlon Tour continues after the Beijing Olympics in Kontiolahti in a very exceptional situation.
The International Biathlon Federation (IBU) eventually followed other international federations as well as the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in IBU competitions after Russia invaded Ukraine last week.
– It is no longer possible to say that sports and politics do not belong together. Many times in such things I have experienced that someone else can comment better, now I can no longer answer that way, Mari Eder stated in an interview with Sport.
– This has touched and affected. It’s really challenging to focus and collect charge for the races when things like this happen in the world.
Eder is not alone with his thoughts, as many of the athletes on the Finnish team said the same. The family of sports is close, the athletes know each other and are friends with each other – according to Eder, there are also Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians.
– I have been in contact with Belarusians and some Russians and Ukrainians. I don’t want to speak in anyone’s mouth, but it has been clear from the beginning that they have not been on top of whether we can compete. The wish has been that everything would go well and end peacefully, Eder said.
Born in Haradok, Belarus Nastassia Kinnunen told Sport that he has had a bad time lately. He has friends on both the Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian sides, in the middle of a war.
For Kinnunen, race days are usually public holidays, but now there is no talk of a festive atmosphere.
– I’ve been trying to focus. When I ski, I ski, but after that I immediately watch in the media what’s going on there (in Ukraine). I’ve just been trying to figure out how to help, he said and said he communicated a lot to Belarus, among others.
– So many people just want to live a normal and safe life, go to work and be with their families. Hopefully this point will end.
Samuelsson: Sport does its part
The IBU announced last weekend that it would allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutral athletes, without national emblems. This caused a great deal of fuss and action was considered too small for the situation. On Wednesday, the IBU tightened its decision and banned the races from Russians and Belarusians.
IBU Director of Communications Christian Winklerin according to recent events, attacks on Russian civilians and strong decisions by the sports community influenced the decision.
Already after the first decision, the Russian Federation said it would appeal to the International Court of Appeal (CAS), but Winkler has not heard anything new about this.
– Now is not the time to speculate on the legality of this decision. We want to show our support for Ukraine and the country’s biathlon association, Winkler said.
– We condemn this (Russian) invasion of Ukraine, we strongly condemn the attacks on Ukrainian soil. Our sympathy lies with the Ukrainian Federation and the Ukrainian athletes who are currently on the front lines.
The IOC has recently been heavily criticized by, among others, the Beijing Olympics Sebastian Samuelsson welcomes the fact that the IBU has finally made a tough decision. He hopes that Ukraine will feel the support of the whole of Europe.
– Economic sanctions have been imposed on Russia, so I think it is good that sport is playing its part and excluding Russia from sport. We must try to stop the war, Samuelsson commented.
The IBU management team worked closely with the Biathletes Athletes Committee to decide on the closure of the Russians and Belarusians. Chairman of the Athletes Committee Clare Eganin according to him, excluding athletes from competitions was the last thing the committee would have wanted to do.
– We were pleased with our decision last week, but now the situation has changed. We have to do everything we can to put pressure on these two countries, Egan explained.
– I sent an official letter to Russian and Belarusian athletes on behalf of the Athletes’ Committee yesterday. I said that we will continue to represent them, and we have not made this decision lightly. It is clear that no one wins the war.
Member of the Athletes’ Committee Eric Lesser said he fully supported the IBU ‘s decision, but thought it might have been better to let the Russians and Belarus compete as neutral athletes.
– Because only together we have the opportunity to make a statement strong enough. That we are fighting here for solidarity, freedom and democracy. We could have shown together with the Russians and the Belarusians that we do not want a war, Lesser said.
In the same breath, Lesser admits that the situation would have been unfair, as Ukrainian athletes can not participate in the Games because they are on the front.
– This is a 50-50 decision, and I fully understand the decision that was reached. However, it is quite a big thing to completely exclude these two countries from sport. Hopefully the Kremlin and the Russians will understand what this is all about. This is not about a Western against Russia. We don’t want a war. That’s the only thing here.
Seppälä: Pidrutshnyi sets an example
Only a 19-year-old former junior national team biathlete Yevhen Malyshevin death on the front (you move to another service)has shaken the biathlon family in the last 24 hours. Malyshev’s fate has been a shock to both athletes and backgrounds.
Many Ukrainian biathletes are currently serving in the military on the front lines. Among other things, he won the World Championship in Chasing at the Östersund World Championships in 2019 Dmytro Pidrutshnyi left in the middle of the season to defend his country.
– It’s a really tough and shocking thing. Ukrainians pull on their bulletproof vests while lying on the couch themselves, Olli Hiidensalo pondered Sport’s interview.
In Hiidensalo’s opinion, the fact that athletes are not allowed to participate in the competition is a double-edged sword, because in his opinion, athletes are not to blame for the actions of the state.
– But if it can influence action, then it is the right solution. On the other side of the scale, however, such big things and innocent lives have already been lost.
Clare Egan admits she can’t even describe what she’s felt while looking at pictures of Ukraine. As an American athlete, he has often felt contradictory about his sport because there are so often big problems with guns in the United States.
– But that is one of the reasons why biathlon is such a great sport: it has transformed the military sport into a sport. It is like a description of the transition to peace. It has changed from violence to a sport that unites countries, Egan said.
Many biathletes are professionally soldiers or police, but Christian Winkler points out that these athletes rarely find themselves in real situations and are often not recruited to the front. Tero Seppälä Dmytro Pidrutshnyi thinks he was pushed and lets the ref know about it.
– As a well-known person in his own country, he sets an example to others that he will not be extradited. I do appreciate it very much. But it is impossible to comprehend how terrible a place it is in the middle of a war, Seppälä said.
“I don’t think athletes could have competed safely”
Clare Egan told Sport that one of the reasons for the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians was also that the safety of athletes – including Russians and Belarusians – could not be guaranteed.
– I don’t think these athletes could have competed safely, and that was one of the main reasons why we had to ban them from participating. We must remain in solidarity with the Ukrainians and with the Olympic movement, but we could not have guaranteed the security of the Russians and the Belarusians.
Mari Eder recalls that the Russian and Belarusian teams made the decision to withdraw from the Games even before the IBU imposed its sanctions. Eder is not only concerned about the situation of biathlon or Kontiolahti, but he says there have been similar experiences of insecurity worldwide.
– It’s really alarming about itself. And there has already been talk in Finland that people who speak Russian, for example, have been discriminated against, he said.
Director of the Kontiolahti World Cup event Sami Leinosen according to Russia’s attack on Ukraine has not affected the race arrangements. The corona situation has still had a greater impact on the arrangements.
– We have carried out a risk analysis together with the authorities, but there are no issues that would require additional attention. We go to the level of security of a normal event and look at the situation day by day, Leinonen said, noting that the situation in the world is more visible in the mood.
Usually, strong Russian support has been seen and heard in Kontiolahti, but now, according to Leinonen, Finland’s entry restrictions also make it difficult to enter the Games. However, Russian spectators can be seen in the auditorium, as there are many Russians studying, living and working in Joensuu and North Karelia.
– The number of thousands of Russian biathlon fans seen during previous competitions is not expected this time. We are, of course, hoping that the world situation will calm down and things will start to go in the most normal direction. Then we can welcome viewers and fans from abroad to Kontiolahti for the next opening of the World Cup.
According to Christian Winkler, the IBU relies on local race organizers who are in daily contact with the authorities. As the authorities have given the green light to the fact that the Games can be held safely and in a safe environment, the IBU has not questioned this.
– We’re not worried about threats right now. We are in contact with the authorities and rely on their assessments of the state of the country, both politically and from a security perspective, Winkler said.
Clare Egan and Eric Lesser admit that it is difficult for them to focus on competing at the moment, but they hope to be able to show their support to the Ukrainians by competing as well. Athletes are also planning to show support on Saturday with small ribbons colored by the Ukrainian flag.
– Everyone gets a chance to put that ribbon somewhere in a gun or race outfit. That’s how we get a lot of Ukrainian colors into the race, even though Ukrainians can’t be here with us, Egan said.
Lesser hopes that despite the war, the biathlon family will be able to enjoy the races and togetherness. He also understands inquiries about whether the entire rest of the season should have been canceled because of the war.
– I understand the question, because the war is not very far from here. But eight years ago, there was also a war, both in Ukraine and in Afghanistan, and we had competitions. We can only support athletes so they can come back as soon as possible, Lesser said.