IOC Lifts Financial Restrictions On Int'l Biathlon Union

Direct payments from the IOC to the Int'l Biathlon Union will resume "after all restrictions placed on the governing body were lifted" on Friday, according to Liam Morgan of INSIDE THE GAMES. The IOC suspended all payments to the IBU earlier this year after a criminal investigation focused on doping, fraud and corruption was opened against former President Anders Besseberg and Secretary General Nicole Resch. IOC President Thomas Bach claimed the IOC had "received a strong undertaking from the IBU President to see these reforms through to full implementation," allowing the direct payments to be unfrozen. An external audit of the IBU's anti-doping program was also carried out, which praised the IBU for its anti-doping operation but "urged the governing body to be more transparent in dealing with future cases." The organization also committed to join the Int'l Testing Agency, the new umbrella organization established earlier this year (INSIDE THE GAMES, 11/2).