"There is no way without doping": "sick" Norwegian biathletes were left without medals — opinions

Two-time Olympic champion Dmitry Vasiliev commented on the unsuccessful performance of Norwegian biathletes in the mixed relay at the World Championships in Switzerland.

From February 12 to 23, the 2025 Biathlon World Championship is being held in Lenzerheide. Last Wednesday, Norwegians Ingrid Tandrevold, Maren Kirkeide, Sturla Lagreid and Johannes Boe took fourth place in the mixed relay.

"I think the Norwegians were told from above that the shop with their dirty deeds was closing. It's not for nothing that both Be brothers immediately decided to end their careers, even though the Olympics are on the nose. You see, the results of the Norwegians at the World Championships fell sharply without doping, only fourth place in the mixed relay. Norwegians are starting to show their real results. They all have a bunch of imaginary illnesses, they're all asthmatics for some reason.

When Norwegians are banned from using legalized doping everywhere, the podium in biathlon and cross-country skiing will change a lot. Norwegians will occupy different places at the competitions than they used to occupy using doping," Vasiliev stressed.

The two-time Olympic champion also criticized the biathlon World Championship, where Russian athletes are not allowed.:

"I'm not interested in watching competitions without Russian athletes. The Biathlon World Championship is now the championship of scammers and legalized doping, which are Norwegians. Why should I look at scammers? I won't watch the World Cup. Statistics can also be found on the Internet to find out which of the scammers took which place. I won't be watching any races. Without Russian athletes, such tournaments do not matter."

Answering the question whether the leaders of the Russian national team could now fight for the medals of the World Championship, Vasiliev stressed:

"It's hard to say. The lack of practice at the international level leaves its mark. Competition with the world's leading athletes, even with dopers, makes you raise your level. And when you're endlessly competing only with your own, you don't know if you're running fast or slow. Your skill is limited to the results of your rivals. It all depends on who you're competing with."

In turn, two-time Olympic champion Olga Zaitseva assessed the likelihood of the return of Russian biathletes to international competitions.:

"This is politics. And as they behaved, they will continue to behave until someone tells them. I don't know if the IBU (International Biathlon Union) will be the last or the penultimate federation to return the Russians — everything will depend on politics. They will act on someone else's orders."

Recall that since the spring of 2022, Russian biathletes have not participated in international competitions due to the events on Ukraine.

In January, the president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), Johan Eliash, who announced his intention to run for the post of head of the IOC, expressed support for the admission of Russian athletes in neutral status, similar to how it was at the Summer Olympics in Paris.