Loginov's admission, Garanichev's participation and the composition for the mixed relay: what is being discussed before the Biathlon World Cup in Pokljuka

Admission problems

Traditionally, before the Biathlon World Championships, fans worry about which of the athletes will be included in the national team and will fight for medals.

This year, such a question for the Russian national team turned out to be more difficult than usual.

Head coach Valery Polkhovsky named the squad on February 3, but it still needed to be agreed with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Biathlon Union (IBU).

Due to the sanctions imposed on the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), increased requirements are now imposed on Russian athletes to participate in major competitions.

WADA could hardly have any questions for most biathletes, but the arrival of Alexander Loginov to Pokljuka was in doubt.

Due to his doping background, the reigning sprint world champion could have his clearance removed.

The President of the Russian Biathlon Union, Viktor Maygurov, immediately announced that he would seek the participation of Loginov in court if he was still prohibited from performing.

He assured that there are no objective reasons for excluding an athlete from the composition.

“Naturally, we will ask for an explanation.

After all, the IBU clearly understands that we are all now guided by the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

And the IBU, as a signer of the WADA code, is unlikely to take the decision to exclude any of the Russian athletes from the World Championships.

Moreover, this decision will be made not by the IBU, but by WADA.

And WADA will also not go into the bottle without observing the CAS decision.

Today, no one needs new litigation.

There is a clear definition that if an athlete does not have a valid disqualification or other restriction, then he must be allowed to participate in the World Championships.

There are no such athletes in our team, ”Maygurov told RIA Novosti.

However, the alarms were in vain.

Five days before the first starts, the IBU announced that all Russian athletes named by Polkhovsky were admitted to the World Championships.

They will act as an RBU team without their state symbols.

Garanichev's participation

In addition to Loginov, another athlete in the Russian national team could raise certain questions.

Evgeny Garanichev was included in the composition at the end of the European Championship, and this decision of the coaching staff caused a misunderstanding in the biathlon community.

“All other things being equal, Garanichev, of course, should not go to the World Championship.

He's weak, but we need a spare.

Since we have the entire program, for example, Eliseev will not be able to pass, then I agree with the coaches.

Let Eugene try his hand at the individual race.

Women have options as to whom to take, but men do not, ”commentator Dmitry Guberniev told the Championship.

Olympic medalist Alexander Privalov criticized the choice in favor of Garanichev.

In his opinion, the coaching staff should pay attention to younger athletes.

“We must take young people.

They took Garanichev ... Why take an athlete to the World Championship, if you know that there will be no medal.

Better to take a young man, who even has a problem with shooting, but at least he runs well.

Indeed, in biathlon there are examples of successful shooting, in which case the young will have a good result.

The coaches, of course, know better, but everything is visible with the naked eye.

Therefore, the composition can be said to be controversial, "Privalov told TASS.

This season, Garanichev takes 30th place in the overall standings of the World Cup.

His best result was 13th sprint position at the Hochfilzen competition.

Also, the bronze medalist of the Olympics helped the national team to finish fourth in the relay once.

At the European Championships, Garanichev, together with Larisa Kuklina, became the third in the supermix, and this convinced the coaching staff that the athlete would come in handy in Pokljuka.

“There are a lot of critics, but let's trust the coaches.

They know better who to put where.

We did not admit any violations of the selection criteria.

Everything is open and transparent.

Some athletes were given the opportunity to compete at the European Championships.

Show yourself in these competitions - you will go to the World Championship.

Kuklina won a medal in Poland, Garanichev also won a prize in the mixed relay.

Now we will look at exactly who and on what race to bet.

You need to perform with dignity.

Just being a member is one thing.

And fighting for medals is completely different, ”the press service of the Russian Olympic Committee quotes the coach.

Mixed Relay Gold Composition

The first set of awards at the World Championship will be played out on February 10 in the mixed relay, and the composition of the Russian national team for this race is already known.

Polkhovsky tentatively named Ulyana Kaisheva, Svetlana Mironova, Alexander Loginov and Eduard Latypov as participants.

“If nothing critical happens, then we will not change the composition for the mixed relay at the World Championships.

We agreed that we will fight for the highest places.

If we take this season, the most successful were the relay races, so we will focus on this, ”RIA Novosti quotes Polkhovsky.

The named composition is exactly the same as the one that won gold medals at the World Cup in Oberhof.

However, on the same day, many strong biathletes performed in the supermix, including the Norwegian Johannes Boe and the Swedish Hanna Oeberg.

In the mixed relay, the Russians last climbed the podium in 2017.

Then the team, which included Loginov, took third place.

New Pokljuka track

Although biathletes regularly travel to Pokljuka for the World Cup stages, this time they will have to get used to the local track again.

According to the analyst of the Russian national team Dmitry Shukalovich, the organizers changed it a lot, making it more difficult.

But the biathletes have already managed to carry out several trainings on it and get used to it.

“The organizers have made the track as difficult as possible, making it difficult, unpredictable and at the same time interesting.

Work is in full swing at the stadium, they are preparing for the World Cup, screens have already appeared.

Teams from Slovenia and Ukraine also train with us.

The weather is excellent, +3 ° С, there is practically no wind.

The sun is here in the mornings, but now it is a little cloudy, ”Shukalovich described the situation in Pokljuka.