Russian biathletes have nothing to shoot at.
Anton Babikov photographed after winning the 20 km World Cup competition in Anterselva in January 2022. Two months later, the Russians were excluded from international competitions. EPA/AOP
The work of Russian biathletes has become very difficult, says the relay world champion Anton Babikov.
Babikov, 32, says in an interview with MatchTV that due to the sanctions against Russia, there is a shortage of contributions from the country’s biathletes.
The EU and the US tightened sanctions after Russia launched an offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.
– We don’t talk about it much, but now it’s difficult to get the best cartridges from the world. Everyone shoots with what they manage to find, Babikov says in the BBC story by.
– We used to have the best cartridges in the world, now we only have some leftovers.
Two-time Olympic champion Dimitri Vasiliev60, confirms his countryman’s story.
He says that cartridges are manufactured in Russia, but the quality is far from good. According to Vasiljev, the German products they like are not available because the trade is so closely monitored.
– In this area, the sanctions have hit hard. We used to compete with imported bets, but now they are not available in Russia, regrets the sports legend.
Member of the board of the Russian Biathlon Union Anna Bogali says that the worst problem concerns grassroots activities.