MINSK, 8 November (BelTA) – The forthcoming IBU Open European Championships in February 2019, the 2019 IBU Summer Biathlon World Championships and the 2020 IBU Cup Biathlon leg will be a serious test for the Belarusian sport center Raubichi ahead of the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon leg in 2022, Chairman of the Belarusian Biathlon Federation Andrian Tsibulsky told BelTA.
“A lot of work has been done over the past years. Winning the right to host the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon leg in Raubichi is our greatest achievement. The election of Olga Nazarova to the IBU technical committee and the activity of the General Secretary of the Belarusian Biathlon Federation Darya Domnikova are all the links of one chain. The federation was gradually earning the right to host the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon leg. Of course, it would have been impossible without the decision of head of state Alexander Lukashenko to conduct a large-scale makeover of the Raubichi sport center. Today the center near Minsk meets the requirements for hosting international competitions,” said Adrian Tsybulsky
When asked about the capacity of the center, Andrian Tsybulsky assured that this problem will be solved. “We will install additional seats for the European Championships 2019 to increase the capacity. We will pay special attention to the opening of the continental forum when we bid farewell to the big guns of biathlon, our legends Darya Domracheva and Nadezhda Skardino. There are a lot of things in store for fans. The federation, the organizers will have to go through a kind of exam. The 2018 IBU Summer Biathlon World Championships and the IBU Cup 2020 will also be a kind of rehearsal ahead of the World Cup leg. Representatives of the International Biathlon Union will personally make sure that Belarus is able to hold competitions at the highest level with a large number of spectators. We also look forward to the support of Russian fans who, no doubt, will come to Raubichi for major international competitions in biathlon.
Andrian Tsybulsky said that he is currently preoccupied with the training of the Belarusian biathlon athletes for the future competitions. “We are planning to field a strong squad for the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing,” he added.
By the decision of the International Biathlon Union, Belarus will host 2021/2022 BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon 7 on 28 February-6 March following the Olympic Games in Beijing.
