“I’m not going to congratulate him”: the number two in the World Cup causes problems for biathletes

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At the Biathlon World Championships in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, Latvian Andrejs Rastorgujevs (35) won the silver medal in the mass start on the last day. But this is exactly what is currently causing problems in the biathlon circus.

About three years ago, Rastorgujev violated anti-doping rules and was banned for 18 months. The Latvian provided false information at the time and missed three mandatory reporting dates. According to the World Anti-Doping Code, athletes are required to correctly declare their whereabouts and therefore be available at all times for any doping controls.

The competition is fierce

The fact that he is now back is not well received by everyone. “I’m not going to congratulate him,” Sebastian Samuelsson (26), for example, explains after the race. The Swede says he believes there should be stricter doping penalties.

“But now the rules are what they are and hopefully he is clean, or so I can assume,” accepts the 23rd of the mass start. Rastorgujevs himself ignores Samuelsson’s criticism: “That’s his problem, not mine.”

“A fantastic feeling”

Johannes Thingnes Bö (30) is crowned world champion ahead of Rastorgujevs. After the race, the Norwegian said his pursuer had run a good race, but he still had mixed feelings: “It’s always strange to be on the podium with someone who has been caught doping or not having a residence permit . He broke rules that shouldn’t be broken, which is of course sad.”

Andrejs Rastorgujevs does not care about the criticism. He makes it clear: “After the suspension I no longer have any problems. People can talk as much as they want, the most important thing for me is that I am standing here with a silver medal, my very first World Cup medal. That’s a fantastic feeling.” Before the victory in Nove Mesto, the Latvian had only been on a World Cup podium twice and had never won a World Cup medal. (bjl)

Source : Blick