She had already announced it, now the International Biathlon Union (IBU) has acted. Russia and Belarus are no longer part of the association, have been suspended.
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has suspended Russia and Belarus in the wake of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine with immediate effect. The decision by the executive was unanimous, the IBU announced on Tuesday. Since the beginning of March, athletes from the two countries have been excluded from all international events.
The aim of the decision is “to protect the athletes and the sporting integrity of the competitions”. The associations from Russia and Belarus “did not fulfill their humanitarian obligations as defined in the IBU statutes”. Until the next ordinary congress in September, the suspension should be regularly reviewed depending on further developments.
Russia has not been a full IBU member since 2017. No events will take place there until 2026, and representatives of the Russian federation RBU are not allowed to hold official IBU offices.