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BIATHLON

Neuner to sit out final Olympic biathlon relay

Just hours after winning her second Olympic gold medal on Sunday, German biathlete Magdalena Neuner made the surprise announcement that she would not compete in the relay event on Tuesday.

Published: 22 February 2010 09:00 CET
Neuner to sit out final Olympic biathlon relay
Photo: DPA

“For me the Olympic Games ended today,” Neuner told a press conference at the German athlete’s dormitory in Whistler. “I won’t ski the relay.”

The 23-year-old had claimed her second gold of the 2010 games when she won the 12.5km mass start on Sunday – after already winning gold in the pursuit and silver in the sprint.

But Germany’s sweetheart Neuner said she was too tired to continue.

“It was my decision, national trainer Uwe Müssiggang left it up to me,” the Bavarian said. “I have noticed that I am pretty exhausted from the head down. Now I hope that the other four can make a good run and get their medals.”

The six-time world champion added: “I have now won two golds and a silver. That’s more than I dreamed of.”

Now German athletes Kati Wilhelm, Andrea Henkel, Simone Hauswald and Martina Beck will compete in the final biathlon event on Tuesday. Neuner said she would cheer from the stands.

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DOPING

Norwegian biathlon champ: ‘Make clear example’ out of doping Russians

Olympic biathlon champion Martin Fourcade of France has threatened to lead a boycott of the sport's World Cup series unless the international federation takes tough action against Russian doping.

Published: 16 December 2016 12:22 CET
Norwegian biathlon champ: 'Make clear example' out of doping Russians
Norwegian biathlon champ Emil Hegle Svendsen said he would support a ban of the Russians. Photo: Primoz Lovric / NTB scanpix
Fourcade and other top biathlon competitors, including Norway's 2010 Olympic champ Emil Hegle Svendsen, are furious after the International Biathlon Union said 31 suspicious Russian cases had been raised in the latest report by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
 
“It's not like it's only one or two. It's 31 added to the 12 we had over the few past years in biathlon,” French champion Fourcade told Norwegian television channel NRK.
 
“If my federation don't get big balls enough to tackle the problem, athletes have to do it on their own,” added Fourcade, winner of 10 world championship titles, speaking from a World Cup event in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic on Thursday.
 
“If nothing is done in January I will ask my colleagues in international teams, I mean Norway, I mean Germany, I mean Czech Republic, I mean all the nations, to not compete. I will be proud to do it for my sport to be clean,” he said. 
 
For his part, Svendsen said “the IBU must make a clear example to show that this will not be tolerated. I support the IBU if they do it.”
 
Norway's Anders Besseberg, the IBU president, told NRK he could not exclude a total ban on Russian athletes.
 
An IBU body investigating cases brought up by the McLaren inquiry into doping in all Russian sport held its first meeting on Thursday.
 
“Following the report publication, the IBU received 31 executive summaries on investigations related to Russian athletes,” said an IBU statement.
 
“At the moment the group is still reviewing and evaluating the evidentiary disclosure packages that contain detailed information on each individual case.”
 
The expert group is to recommend disciplinary action to the IBU executive board on December 22nd. The 31 athletes involved have not yet been named.
 
“The IBU is truly appalled and deeply saddened by the findings of the McLaren report. The IBU has always emphasised clean sport, the fight against doping and protection of clean athletes as its top priorities,” said the statement.
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