“IBU has nothing to do with it”

Two days after the end of the biathlon world championship, the main topic is still the scandal surrounding Russian Alexander Loginov and his personal trainer Alexander Kasperovich. The Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation expressed concern about the current situation and the actions of the Italian police, who searched the hotel of the national team.

“In the near future, a meeting will be held with the head of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU). Naturally, we will take the necessary measures, but, I repeat, the ministry is a state body, and the SBR interacts with the International Biathlon Union (IBU). Our task is to create conditions in Russia for observing the participation of coaches and athletes in international competitions, ”RIA Novosti quoted the Minister of Sports Oleg Matytsin as saying.

In addition, he thanked the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Russian consulate in Italy for the prompt reaction and assistance to domestic biathletes.

The investigation is currently under investigation. While there is no discussion of the court, and the case may be closed soon. In this regard, his defendants were allowed to return home. Loginov flew to Moscow on Sunday evening, and from there went to his native Saratov. Kasperovich has also left Italy. At the same time, the biathlete’s personal belongings, including a laptop and a mobile phone, seized during the search, remain with the police.

“Things have not been returned, they are evidence during a search conducted jointly by the prosecutor’s office, the police and the medical violations department. They collected all this, packed it and took it to the prosecutor’s office for further investigations, ”said Vladimir Drachev, head of the SBR, on Match TV.

The search for the location of the Russian national team took place early Saturday morning, then police officers repeated their visit on Sunday night. The reason for starting the investigation was the lack of accreditation with Kasperovich and the suspicion of violation of anti-doping rules by his wards. At the same time, the IBU confirmed that the letter to the prosecutor's office was sent by the anti-doping manager Sarah Foussek, but emphasized that the search was initiated by the law enforcement agencies themselves.

“In Italy, doping is a criminal offense. Thus, this is a purely police case and their suspicions. IBU has nothing to do with it. I don’t know what they write about it in Russia, ”quotes the member of the IBU Executive Committee Ture Beigard NRK.

In Russia, there are still disputes over why the personal trainer of the national team leader was left without accreditation. Some hastened to accuse Drachev, who allegedly because of personal hostility refused Kasperovich access. However, the head of the RRF himself reassured that the problem was a limited number of quotas for each delegation.

“Our 20 accreditations include the entire staff of the team: masseurs, service men, trainers. It would be possible if one of the coaches didn’t go, and Kasperovich went to shoot one Loginov. But this is just stupid! He does not work in the national team, how can we give him accreditation? He could buy a ticket and, as an ordinary spectator, support his athlete, ”Drachev explained.

As a result, Kasperovich took advantage of the accreditation of a member of the Ukrainian team. According to the President of the Biathlon Federation of Ukraine (FBU) Volodymyr Brynzak, the specialist was admitted for a couple of hours, but at that very moment the IBU representative noticed him.

“They made a remark to us, wrote that we surrender it and annul it. Then we met, found out all the circumstances, apologized to the IBU. They returned the accreditation to us, now there are no questions. There will be no sanctions, everything is fine. This is the World Cup, so some sensations are needed, ”Brynzak told Biathlon News on Youtube.

"No one is fighting for him."

Unfortunately, Loginov’s troubles at the World Championships in Anterselva were not limited to police night visits. Even before the incident, some rivals, including the brothers Tarja and Johannes Boe and the Swede Sebastian Samuelsson, repeatedly reminded in their interviews that in 2015 he received a two-year suspension for doping. Searches added fuel to the fire, and the Russian withdrew from the final mass start, citing mental exhaustion.

Most experts supported the decision of the biathlete. At the same time, according to the chairman of the coaching council of the RBU Yevgeny Redkin, he still had to go to the start and, following the example of skier Alexander Bolshunov, who is also regularly attacked by rivals, to prove his case on the track.

“I do not blame Loginov, but, in my opinion, he did the wrong thing. It was necessary to dip the aliens in the face! In vain he refused. He needed to defeat them all in the mass start, and he could have done it. And then in the eyes of the rivals say everything so that they do not tweet. It’s clear that this should not be with the press, just come face to face, ”Redkin said.

After the incident, Loginov said that he could completely end his career due to constant attacks and groundless accusations, which greatly upset many fans. Three-time world champion Ivan Cherezov noted that the athlete can be understood, but it’s too early to see him off to retirement.

“Sasha is incredibly strong in terms of character that endures all these attacks so steadfastly. But there can be a limit to all patience. It is too early to say that he will end up with sports. Let's see how Loginov will go through the remaining races of the season. In the spring, he can thaw away from this whole story and continue his career. It will be his sole choice, ”Cherezov told Izvestia.

Former coach of the Russian biathlon team Vladimir Alikin also called for an understanding of Loginov’s words.

“Now some time will pass, he will run off the stages of the World Cup, and there he will already make the decision. From this side, it is necessary to work the RRF, to forestall these points. The deadline has already passed, a man performs, wins medals at the World Cup. I don’t understand what they want from this, pester foreigners, they were also disqualified, but they don’t bother them, ”complained Alikin.

A similar position is held by the three-time Olympic champion Anfisa Reztsova. In her opinion, a violation of Kasperovich only aggravated the situation of his ward, however, in this situation, biathlon authorities deserve critics.

“I have the impression that no one is fighting for him - neither coaches, nor Drachev. Sasha remained at the World Cup, in fact, alone, so he refused to run the mass start. He experienced tremendous tension, they put pressure on him from all sides, and there is nobody to help, ”said Reztsova.

“It's scary that there is no team”

In Anterselva Loginov was the only Russian biathlete who managed to win medals. Despite this, Drachev called the performance of the team positive.

“I am satisfied that we have a world champion. For two years we managed to make Loginov and bring him to the highest step in our sport. Moreover, in the men's sprint, Russia did not have victories for 12 years. Naturally, behind this result, the performance of the whole team can be evaluated positively. But there are moments that we would like to eliminate. These are the failures of the female staff, as well as the scandals that were at the beginning and end of the tournament, ”summed up the Drachev.

One of the coaching mistakes he called non-participation in the races of Kristina Reztsova.

“I asked why they didn’t put her, they answered me that she’s not ready to speak. Then why are you keeping her here? These are questions for Vitaly Noritsyn (head coach of the women's team. - RT ). There are also questions for the functional preparation of girls, ”added the head of the federation.

At the same time, many experts adhere to the opposite point of view. According to the former president of the RBU, Alexander Tikhonov, the leadership of the Russian biathlon who refuses to carry out radical reforms and introduce new training methods is to blame for such poor results. In addition, the team lacks unity.

“I communicate with all delegations. You go to the hotel to the Germans, all as one: "Ohhh, Alexander!" Everything is as it should. I go to our. One is sitting in one corner, the second in the other, the third in the third. This is scary that there is no team, leader. There is no Suvorov. None of this, nothing will happen, ”Tikhonov is convinced.

Two-time Olympic champion Anna Bogaliy emphasized that, given the team’s performance this season, such results can be considered predictable.

“In general, probably, the whole season is average for us. In Anterselva, nothing but the victory of Sasha Loginov in the sprint, his medals in the pursuit race and sixth place of Ekaterina Yurlova-Perkht in the mass start, can not be distinguished. The fact that the leaders of the national team showed themselves is expected. Yes, even if Katya didn’t succeed, but when she showed the 12th and 13th results for the season, it’s not bad for her, ”Bogaliy shared her opinion.

In turn, Cherezov admitted that he could not unambiguously evaluate the results of the competition. Loginov’s result is important for the entire Russian biathlon, although the scandals surrounding the team left an unpleasant aftertaste. According to him, the national teams of France and Norway looked more competitive due to competent training at all levels.

“I think that this is the totality of the work of the entire biathlon system in these countries, from the training of children to the support of young athletes in moving to the main team. First of all, I’m talking about how the functional, shooting and psychological components are built, how the selections take place, ”Cherezov explained.