The biathletes from Belarus will no longer take part in the remaining World Cup races this winter. This was announced by the national association and reacted to the decision of the world association IBU to only allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to start under a neutral flag due to the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Alimbekawa no longer in the fight for the overall World Cup
This means that one of the fiercest competitors of the three-time Norwegian Olympic champion Marte Olsbu Röiseland is eliminated from the overall World Cup competition. The Belarusian Dsinara Alimbekawa was only 62 points behind the leader Röiseland before the final three World Cup stages. The Russian association had already withdrawn its teams from the World Cup early on Sunday.
After the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, there are still three World Cup weeks on the program for the biathletes. In the coming week we will first go to Kontiolahti in Finland, then for the first time to Otepää in Estonia and finally to Holmenkollen in Norway’s capital Oslo.
Ukrainian biathletes are also missing
The biathlon team of the Ukraine around the Olympic champions Julia Dschima and Valentyna Semerenko will no longer compete in the World Cup after Russia’s military attack on their home country this winter. “Due to the implementation of martial law on the territory of Ukraine” Members of the national team will not be able to participate in training or competitions, Lily Budzulyak, president of the Ukrainian Biathlon Union, wrote on Facebook.
Source: red/sid