Aleksandr Tikhonov, president
of the Russian Union of Biathletes (RUB), said that he would not give Sergei Rozhkov,
former captain of Russia's
biathlon team, permission to join the Belarusian team.. "With
just 18 months to go before the Olympics, we are not going to give away our
athletes," Ves Sport quoted Tikhonov as saying.
Belarus coach
Alyaksandr Byalyaeu said he had asked RUB to allow Rozhkov to perform for Belarus but has
received no reply.
At the start of this past biathlon season, Rozhkov refused to sign a RUB
declaration because of a rancid relationship with Tikhonov. The RUB president
did not include him in the national team and the athlete said he would join Belarus.
