June 28, 2014 (Salzburg, Austria) – In a move that has perplexed, confused, and angered some key figures, the International Biathlon Union’s (IBU) executive board (EB) has voted to discontinue blood testing at Olympic Winter Games (OWG). At the board’s May 23-25 meeting a relatively obscure notation (I iii) in the minutes states that:

“IBU anti-doping tests during OWG based on the experience of the last two Olympic Winter Game editions for which the IOC has sole testing authority, the IBU EB decided:

In the future the IBU will conduct no own [sic] blood screens at OWG, but assist the IOC with expert advice for their test plan.” No explanation is given in the minutes to justify this decision.

The decision triggered a letter on June 16 from Dr. Jim Carrabre, IBU’s Medical VP and who was absent from that meeting (see letter below). Emailed to some 109 recipients in the biathlon world, the letter details Carrabre’s concerns, namely:

– The matter was not on the agenda
– The matter was not discussed with Carrabre prior to the meeting although he considers it to be an area under his responsibility
– The matter was not discussed with Carrabre after the meeting
– Carrabre considers the decision “a major step backwards in our fight against doping”

SkiTrax tried to reach Carrabre who wrote back to say that he is on holidays with limited Internet access. But it is evident that he is not the only one asking questions about the IBU decision.

“I am mystified as to why they would not continue to do the blood testing/screening at the Olympics since we do it at all the World Cups and World Championships,” remarked Max Cobb President & CEO of the US Biathlon Association.

“The IBU has a blood profiling program, the so called blood passport, so it makes sense to keep that part of the testing in the hands of the IBU since it is only useful if you can look back over months and years to detect abnormalities in an athlete’s blood that could be an indicator of doping.  Without the history, I am not sure the blood tests themselves would tell you all that much.”

According to Chris Lindsay, Biathlon Canada’s High Performance Director, “The exact nature of the vote at the last Executive Board meeting is unclear. They did vote to stop doing some sort of blood testing but the minutes of the meetings are not clear. What is clear is that the IBU Medical Director was not consulted about this – nor was the motion on the pre-meeting agenda.

“Having a strong anti-doping program is essential to protecting the integrity of the sport. Any decision that jeopardizes the opportunity for fair playing conditions must be weighed very carefully,” he added.

Meeting notes show that only seven of the ten board members were present. Apart from Carrabre’s absence, Nami Kim of South Korea was absent while Vaclav Firtuk passed away on March 29 and a replacement has not yet been named. The May meeting took place in the ski resort of Going, about 75 minutes southwest of Salzburg where the IBU is headquartered.

SkiTrax is still waiting to hear back from IBU president, Anders Besseberg of Norway. It should be noted that Carrabre is running for presidency of the IBU, trying to replace Besseberg.