Biathletes have been unhappy with the World Cup race schedule over the past few weekends and want a change. The International Biathlon Federation (IBU) considers this a bad idea. MK-Sport will tell you what happened.
Several seasons ago, the International Biathlon Federation (IBU) decided that the men’s and women’s relay races should be held on separate days. It so happens that either men or women have a relay race between the sprint and the pursuit. Not very convenient for athletes who have to choose between running for the national team in the relay or preparing for the pursuit. The Norwegian national team sports director Petr-Arne Botnan and the women’s team coach Sverre Huber Kos are dissatisfied with the race schedule
Even despite the fact that the Norwegian national team successfully performed in both disciplines at the World Cup in Hochfilzen – Martha-Olsbrew RoyselandI did not get into the relay team, but two days after the sprint she won the pursuit, and the Norwegian men’s team became the winner of the relay, although Tarja Be became the best biathlete in the pursuit , who took fifth place.(International Biathlon Federation)
“We think this is just stupidity. We had six people in the pursuit, so some had to wait. It was quite possible to hold the relay races in one day , ”said Huber Kos.
Botnan believes that this schedule is dropping interest in relays:
“The grazing should be done the day after the sprint and there should be no other races in between. This leads to the fact that some countries do not show the best in the relay team. The level of the relay and interest in it are falling. Let’s see if we can do something about it. “
Norwegian biathletes are also determined to change the schedule. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold called the schedule “weird.”
“I would have preferred: sprint, graze and relay, but for some reason the IBU set up the schedule differently. It’s not a big difference, but I would prefer to go through the pursuit immediately after the sprint, rather than wait until tomorrow. “
Tiril Eckhoff says she doesn’t care too much about the schedule but admits it’s weird to start herding two days after the sprint that sets the stage. (International Biathlon Federation)
The IBU was not convinced by the claims of the Norwegians – the schedule for the races at the World Cup stages will not change:
“We don’t want that at the IBU. This is a requirement of TV companies. There is so much sport that there is simply no room for two relays in one day. This event takes a long time , ”said IBU Sporting Director Felix Bitterling.
However, already this week, at the fourth stage of the World Cup in Annecy (France), both men and women will run the pursuit the next day after the sprint, since there are no relays in the stage program, but there will be mass starts. (International Biathlon Federation)
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