Norwegian biathlete and Olympic champion Sturla Holm Legreid is clearly positioning himself. He said that he and his colleagues are raising money to help Ukraine. The IBU World Biathlon Federation has not started the process of admitting Belarusian and Russian athletes as “neutral”.
Transmits of the UNN with reference to of the dpa.
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The return of Russian athletes to sports is controversial.
In most sports, athletes from Russia and Belarus cannot compete again under their flags. The same applies to official competitions in winter sports since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. But the leading federations are now changing this decision, writes Frankfurter Rundschau.
Recently, the stars of Norwegian biathlon raised the Ukrainian flag on the podium to pay tribute to the captain of the Ukrainian biathlon team, Dmytro Pidruchnyi, who was recognized as the best biathlete of the week at the World Cup following the results of the Obergof stage.
It is also known that the International Biathlon Union (IBU) has not yet initiated the process of admitting so-called “neutral” athletes, unlike other sports.
This is what Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Legreid (Olympic champion, four-time world champion) said in an interview with NRK: “We all know what is happening in Ukraine, in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. That's why we want to show our support for Pidruchnyi and the rest of the Ukrainian people.” How? By auctioning off shirts at the World Cup in February and donating the proceeds to Ukraine.
The Norwegian also told the German Press Agency: “We are raising money for bomb shelters for children.
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The IBU World Biathlon Federation has not yet begun the process of admitting neutral athletes. According to several officials, this has not been a problem. Although winter sports have a long tradition in Russia, “external influence is also particularly sensitive because athletes carry weapons,” FR.de writes. At the same time, assistance to Ukraine is more necessary.
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At the World Cup in Switzerland in February, the bibs will be auctioned off by Ukrainian Dmytro Pidruchnyi, with the proceeds going directly to Ukraine.
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At the last Summer Games in Paris, 15 Russian and 16 Belarusian athletes participated under a neutral flag.
“We saw there that this concept of independent, neutral athletes worked. It was accepted by the whole world. All the athletes lived peacefully together in the Olympic Village. Even when their countries are at war. And I hope that the winter sports associations will also take a close look at this,” said Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in an interview with dpa.