Four-time Olympic biathlon champion Alexander Tikhonov commented on the news about the exclusion of Russian biathletes from the 2026 Olympics. This was reported by Glavkom.
Today, August 28, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) stated that the rules do not allow neutral athletes to participate in the Olympic qualifying. This means that Russians will not be able to enter the Olympics in a neutral status.
«Right now, I can say that we are not acting: there are no contacts left, we are lying to ourselves and conducting the wrong policy. One situation is unclear to me: why is the world ruled from across the ocean? We are the winners. Today, we are nowhere to be found, and we are constantly complaining. Do they expect us to finish SVO, to make such a shock that Europe forgets forever? Remind them of 1945, no need to be ashamed. How much longer can we be humiliated: politically, economically, this is not normal. We say that Russia is the richest country, we should be calling the shots. Apparently, we are managing poorly, we have no representation in the IBU. Don't look for reasons, no one is to blame except ourselves,» said Tikhonov.
Data on Russian athletes supporting the war
We remind you, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense published new data on Russian athletes supporting the war on the War&Sanctions portal in the section «Champions of Terror».
The list was updated with information on eight more Russian athletes and officials who support the war. It is worth noting that the basis for the inclusion of these Russians in the list was materials from «Glavkom».
- Russian wrestlers Zaur Uguyev, Abdurashid Sadulaev, and Zaurbek Sidakov, who supported the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and participated in a propaganda rally in Moscow, and despite this, continued to participate in international competitions in European countries in 2023-2025;
- Angelina Melnikova – a Russian gymnast who won the primaries of the «United Russia» party in April 2025 for participation in the elections to the Voronezh City Duma, participates in events for families of «participants of SVO» and received the status of a neutral athlete from the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to return to international competitions;
- Pavel Rozhkov – president of the Paralympic Committee of the Russian Federation, who systematically organizes propaganda tournaments with the participation of Russian occupiers and implements projects aimed at involving Russian soldiers who have been injured in the Paralympic movement.
The list has also been expanded to include Inal Tasoev, Dinara Kudaeva, and Emin Sefershayev.
Olympic champion Tikhonov expressed his surprise that Russian athletes have not yet managed to obtain the opportunity to participate in international competitions on equal terms due to political restrictions, emphasizing the importance of the country's representation in sports organizations.