"We hope to participate in the Olympic Games"

There is still a possibility that our biathletes will compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Italy in February. This was stated in an interview with Izvestia by the head of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) Viktor Maigurov. In a conversation that took place at the summer national championships in Tchaikovsky, he also talked about how athletes are preparing for the winter season, why many strong biathletes did not start in some races of the Russian championships, and whether the national team is ready to abandon ski lubricants with fluoride content, which have recently been banned from international competitions.

"A record number of athletes showed up for the championship this year"

— Isn't the bundle of summer starts that we are seeing now too difficult for athletes — the Cup last week, the championship this week (September 11-14)?

— This is a normal international practice. All the world's leading federations, the teams of Germany, Austria, France and Norway, spend the final stages of their summer training in this way. Besides, everything is coordinated with the coaching council. We don't invent anything in the management ourselves, everything was approved back in the spring. Now we are just moving according to this plan. The coaches themselves can tell you some details and nuances.

— However, a number of strong athletes did not start in the individual race here.

— I think it has more to do with their physical condition. But if we take the numbers, this year a record number of athletes, both boys and girls, showed up for the championship. For all of us, this start is, of course, a cross-section of preparation before the start of the winter season.

— Speaking of the winter season, what does it look like at the moment? Will it be international?

— We hope so, yes. We hope to participate in the Olympic Games. On the other hand, we understand that even if the team is allowed in, it will not be as full as it was before. Therefore, of course, we keep participation in the Olympics in mind, but at the same time we also aim to organize internal competitions for Russian biathlon.

— With regard to the decision on admission, some new deadlines are constantly being announced, later and later. Have you set a date for yourself by which clarity should come?

— What's the point of labeling something if you can't influence it? We follow our own calendar and are ready at any moment to respond to certain decisions, to build the training of those athletes who can be admitted. The coaches of both the men's and women's national teams planned the entire preparatory period for this one way or another.

Yes, we have certain national team leaders both based on the results of last season and as of the current moment. And we are ready at any moment to change the training plan for individual athletes in order to purposefully prepare for the Olympic Games.

"We are moving towards introducing a ban on fluoride at the Russian level"

— The latest news from the IBU — the participation of neutral athletes is not provided for by the current regulations.

— Yes, but these rules are written by the IBU, and the same IBU executive committee can change them. They also have the status of "athletes of the International Biathlon Union" in the current rules. If we are invited to speak in this format, I think we will also consider this option. As I said, whoever writes the rules makes changes to them.

— When we talked in the winter, you said that the service had already traveled to Italy, looked at the tracks, studied the operational nuances. Has this story developed, at what stage is it now?

— Antholz is a familiar place for us. But there is a caveat — we have not competed on oil-free lubricants yet. Now, at the national team level, we are already minimally purchasing lubricants with fluoride and trying to perform without it. But the world is not standing still, this industry, without fluorine solutions, is also improving. Therefore, the task of the service was to take a ride, to try out even domestic versions of fluorine-free lubricants, to see how it all works.

— As a result, does the national team enter winter with or without fluoride?

— With a minimum amount of it. And we are moving towards introducing a ban on the use of fluoride at the Russian level.

— Let's say they tell you in December or January: go ahead, this is the quota for the Games. And you have skis in fluorine...

— All this can be solved without any problems. There are special flushes that can remove fluoride. We have already held a special seminar on this issue, attracted scientific experts, and conducted tests. Besides, now we will buy new skis one way or another and, considering the prospects, make sure that fluoride is no longer used in their preparation.

— What about the export of weapons to Europe?

— Everything is as before, the mechanism is working. Recently, our athletes Karim and Nastya Khalili flew to Europe with their weapons. Yes, as before, it is necessary to request those countries to which the departure takes place, in this case it was Italy and Austria, so that they would give permission for the import of sporting weapons into the country. But everything is working. Even considering that now flights to Europe are connected.