MOSCOW, January 22, Oleg Bogatov. Triumphant performance of Norwegian biathletes at the sixth stage of the World Cup is caused by the presence of a galaxy of strong athletes and the active use of anti-asthma drugs for many years, said four-time Olympic champion Alexander Tikhonov.
On Sunday, Norwegian Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen won the mass start at the World Cup stage in Antholz (Italy), his compatriots Johannes Dahle and Vebjörn Sorum became prize-winners of the competition. Two more representatives from Norway made it into the top six: brothers Johannes and Tarjei Boe took fifth and sixth places, respectively.
“”Firstly, I have no doubt that the Norwegians have good drugs. They were asthmatics, and they still are, no one is struggling with it. And, secondly, why shouldn’t they win , because they have a new galaxy of talented athletes. There was a time for us too, when my team ruled the federation, when we had so many bright victories. After all, we then beat the Norwegians, and the Germans, and everyone else. We were the best federation then in the world,” Tikhonov said.
“And one more thing: I am firmly convinced that talents are not made, talents are born. And there are thousands of examples of this. This galaxy of Norwegians will go away, strong biathletes will appear among the Germans, here, in other countries. Besides, the whole Norway is on skis, they hold competitions starting with children aged five. I’ll give one example. In my years in the Novosibirsk region, more than 200 people started for the regional championship. And today 20-25-30 participate, although the popularity of biathlon in recent years has increased “It’s still growing,” the agency’s interlocutor added.
Earlier, the Congress of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) decided to uphold the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions until further notice against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine.
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