The Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU) was pleased to play a key role at the IBU Coach Webinar, which took place this week from     21 – 23 September, online via Zoom.

The webinar, which was staged for coaches and other interested National Federation (NF) members was on the topic of Female specificity in training and Youth & Junior athlete preparation.

Over the course of the webinar, over 350 coaches and other participants benefitted from the expertise of an international team of sports training experts and experienced biathlon coaches who helped participants broaden their knowledge about the principles of training with young (female) athletes. Participants were encouraged to share ideas, ask questions and learn from other professionals through the webinar experience. 

As it relates to biathlon integrity, Professor Dr. Cornelia Blank ran a session on Thursday 23 September on the topic of Personality development in professional youth sport – how doping prevention can be part of it. 

Professor Blank is Professor and deputy head of the Institute for Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine and Health Tourism at the University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT TIROL) in Hall in Tirol, Austria; and she is an expert on doping-related projects and health promotion in sport. Professor Blank has an interest in developing and evaluating current doping prevention strategies, integrating athletes and athlete support personnel’s perspectives. 

Professor Dr. Cornelia Blank said: “A very important component in anti-doping prevention is the involvement of all participants, especially the coaches can provide a significant support in the area of anti-doping education and help the athletes in their development to become empowered individuals in terms of anti-doping”.

The Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ADD) today announced a 18-month ban on Andrejs Rastorgujevs (Latvia) following 3 whereabouts failures in 12 months.

The CAS partially upheld the charges brought against the athlete by the Biathlon Integrity Unit, but reduced the period of ineligibility from 24 to 18 months. The CAS ADD issued the following decision on Rastorgujevs:

• Andrejs Rastorgujevs is found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation pursuant to Article 2.4 of the IBU ADR (three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period).

• Andrejs Rastorgujevs is sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of eighteen (18) months.

• The period of ineligibility shall commence on 11 March 2021, which is the start date of the provisional suspension imposed on Andrejs Rastorgujevs.

• All competitive results obtained by Andrejs Rastorgujevs from 1 July 2020 until the date on which the CAS ADD decision enters into force are disqualified, with all resulting consequences including forfeiture of medals, points and prizes.

Head of the Biathlon Integrity Unit, Greg McKenna, said:

“The whereabouts system is a core pillar of the global anti-doping structure and the BIU will make sure that it is upheld in our sport. All biathletes have a responsibility to keep their whereabouts information up to date and to avoid missing any tests. As we can see in this case, whereabouts failures can result in anti-doping rule violations and sanctions.”

Rastorguyevs finished in 30th place in the overall IBU World Cup in the previous season. He won the Gold medal in the Individual competition of the Open European Championships (OECH) in 2021 – a result that will be disqualified if there is no appeal or the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division upholds the verdict.

The CAS ADD award may be appealed to the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division within 21 days from receipt of the notification of the final award.

The Biathlon Integrity Unit welcomes the recent decision of the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ADD), which determined on the basis of Mr Ustyugov’s Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) profile that he committed an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) of use of a prohibited substance and/or method in the period 2010-2014 in breach of Article 2.2 of the IBU Anti-Doping Rules.

Furthermore, the CAS ADD, which serves as the Disciplinary Tribunal under the new IBU Constitution, found that Mr Ustyugov had the benefit of protection and support to artificially augment his performance through doping and to avoid detection, which could not have been achieved other than with a significant degree of orchestration or common enterprise. In light of those aggravating factors, the CAS ADD imposed the maximum period of ineligibility of four years.

All competitive results obtained by Mr Ustyugov from January 2010 to the end of the 2013/2014 season, including all results and medals won at the 2010 Olympic Games and the 2014 Olympic Games, are disqualified.

This was the first case brought by the newly established Biathlon Integrity Unit. 

The Biathlon Integrity Unit Board commented that “It welcomes the decision of the CAS ADD in this case and believes it underlines our commitment to ensuring Biathlon is a clean and trusted sport”.   

The CAS ADD decision may be appealed by both parties involved to the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division within 21 days from receipt of the final decision.

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NOTE TO EDITORS

About the Biathlon Integrity Unit:

– The Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU) is an operationally independent Unit, which manages all doping and other integrity-related matters for the sport of Biathlon.

– The Unit’s remit includes anti-doping, the pursuit of individuals engaged in competition results manipulation, bribery, breaches of betting rules, and any other violation under the IBU Integrity Code.

– It is the BIU’s vision to ensure Biathlon is a fair, clean and trusted sport. The Unit will strive to earn the confidence, respect and support of both the Biathlon Family and wider sporting community.