He didn’t want to withdraw. Norwegian biathlete Johannes Boe started the Nove Mesto pursuit in the Czech Republic which he won on Saturday afternoon, despite testing positive for Covid-19, he said on Norwegian television on Sunday. TV2.
World Cup leader Johannes Boe had three tests, two of which were positive, he told TV2. “I participated in the pursuit, because I was leading (after the sprint, editor’s note) and I wanted to win more”, he justified himself.
His brother Tarjei, 2nd in the sprint on Thursday, also tested positive and also decided to line up with the pursuit. Johannes and Tarjei were symptom-free and the International Biathlon Federation (IBU) no longer prohibits the departure of a biathlete who tested positive for Covid-19 this winter.
On the podium with a mask
The two Norwegian biathletes tried to keep their distance from the other competitors, explained Johannes, winner of the pursuit. With Tarjei, second, they climbed on the podium on Saturday with an FFP2 mask on their face.
“It was their decision. Our doctor said if they have no symptoms, no fever, nothing, just positive, it’s their business to decide whether they want to line up or not,” the coach explained on Sunday. Norway, Siegfried Mazet, at the microphone of German public television ARD, before the start of the mixed relay and the single mixed relay, for which Johannes and Tarjei Boe are not aligned.
No decision has yet been made regarding participation in the next stage of the World Cup, next week in Ostersund, Sweden. Several biathletes, including Norwegian Sturla Laegreid, Johannes Boe’s first pursuer at the Biathlon World Cup, and Frenchman Quentin Fillon-Maillet, have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days and have given up competing in the Nove Mesto races. .