Two-time Olympic biathlon champion Dmitri Vasilyev of Russia has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to scrap therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs). Speaking to RIA Novosti, Vasilyev said these special permits undermine fair competition and give certain countries an unfair advantage.
A therapeutic use exemption is a permit given to athletes to use a substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) prohibited list for medical treatment. Vasilyev stressed that the IOC should seriously consider ending this practice.
"This is now a deceptive tactic that is obvious to everyone. For example, a significant number of Norwegian athletes are ill, yet they still defeat all their healthy competitors. Eleven-time Olympic champion Klæbo came out of this system, but the absence of our athletes also played a role in that," the Russian athlete said.
According to a survey by Scandinavian media, nearly half of the national team athletes in winter Olympic disciplines from Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark reported not having undergone an out-of-competition doping test in the past year.