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THEY ARE LUBRICATED: Johannes Thingnes Bø (left) and Tarjei Bø may still have fluoride under their skis next season. Photo: Jostein Magnussen
The International Biathlon Federation (IBU) and the Ski Federation (FIS) cannot complete the test equipment on time. This postpones the fluoride ban for one year.
The fluoride ban should come into effect this season.
– We have a duty to protect athletes and ensure that competitions are fair. Since the season is shortly before the start of the season and the test apparatus does not meet the requirements we set, we must postpone the fluoride ban, IBU President Olle Dahlin says in a press release.
At a meeting today, the FIS also decided to postpone the introduction to the 2021/2022 season.
Biathletes lubrication manager Tobias Dahl Fenre hopes to learn from the process they have chosen to run from the IBU and the International Ski Federation, FIS.
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Postponement of the fluoride ban creates headaches
– They cannot keep the information for themselves. Here we have to work together. They must involve us and other professional backgrounds to make this a robust system. We said in November last year, and if the ban is successful next year, we must participate now, Dahl Fenre tells VG.
He is aware that the sailors also want a ban on fluoride. Now lubricators can find again all the fluorine products that have been stored, also the so-called C8 products that are banned by the EU.
– It is not good that there is a postponement, but right now there was no alternative. This was the only sensible thing to do, says the lubrication manager.
“We have received a legal clarification regarding the EU ban, and it means that we can continue to use all fluoride products this season and still comply with regulations,” IBU President Olle Dahlin told VG.
FIS and IBU have collaborated on the test team that was not ready.
Get machines for spring
The prototype is not ready yet and more testing is needed, the IBU admits.
According to the FIS, the next season will be used for more tests. Recent tests have revealed that there are sources of error that require adjustment. These tests are done indoors and now you want to test outdoors. Then the test machines will be available to all branches next spring.
The International Biathlon Federation says it is planning a seminar with the lubricators at the end of next season to introduce the new system.
The Storting representative, Lars Haltbrekken, and SV believe that Norway should, in any case, introduce a fluoride ban at all events in the country next winter.
– Consideration for the health of people and the environment should take precedence over the opportunity to ski a few seconds faster. We cannot allow those who want to cheat and use fluoride under skis to control this, writes Haltbrekken in an email to VG.
P.S! For cross-country skiing, the decision means that the fluoride ban will continue to apply to athletes in all disciplines up to and including age 16, according to NTB.
