Latvian Biathlete Rastorgujev Wins Silver at World Championships Amid Doping Controversy

On Sunday in Nove Mesto, Rastorgujev won the silver medal in the 15-kilometer distance with a joint start, achieving the best result of his career and Latvia’s all-time in the world championships.

Although Rastorgujev has never been caught using doping, he could not be reached by doping controllers three times in 12 months, so in 2021 he was banned from competing for 18 months.

Norwegian Johannes Tingnes Bä, who won the mass start, immediately after the competition congratulated Rastorgujev with the silver medal.

The Norwegian television channel TV2 asked Bea about this dark phase of Rastorguyev’s career. “Anything is possible in biathlon. He has been competing for many years. He got a penalty for not being available to doping controllers. It’s hard to say if he did it on purpose or just stubborn. One or the other. If I had received two warnings, I would be at that address , until these warnings are cleared,” said Bae, who won three gold, three silver and one bronze medals at the world championships.

When asked if the situation with the Latvian biathlete doesn’t seem strange, Be answered: “Maybe a little. We will probably never know why he was unreachable for doping control three times. Only he knows the answer.”