Swedish biathlete Samuelsson boycotts Russian World Cup finals

Stockholm (dpa) - Swedish Olympic biathlon gold medallist Sebastian Samuelsson said Tuesday he was "boycotting" the upcoming World Cup finals in Russia in protest over unresolved doping issues.The finals will take place in Tyumen from March 22-25 after the International Biathlon Union (IBU) refused to bow to pressure and move the event amid the furore of Russian doping practices in winter sports. The United States and the Czech team are among those to have already announced a boycott. "Countries that don‘t have a functioning anti-doping organization should not host international events," Samuelsson wrote on Twitter.Samuelsson won a gold and a silver medal at the recent Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.He added that he also had "concerns" about his safety in Russia and the doping tests he would submit there.Sweden‘s German coach Wolfgang Pichler said he had "a different opinion" about the boycott.But he told Stockholm daily Expressen: "I support him if he thinks this is better for the sport."Samuelsson told the daily he had taken an independent decision but "followed the Czech Republic, Canada and the United States in not travelling [to Russia]." Swedish Biathlon Federation president Olle Dahin told Swedish Radio that a boycott "was not the best course," adding that "the Russians aren‘t involved in the doping tests. He‘s not quite up to date there."Tyumen was stripped of the 2021 world championships and the 2017 World Cup event over the affair but the IBU decided in Pyeongchang to go ahead with the World Cup finals.