Clare Egan: doping isn’t necessary – and I’m an example of that

Biathlon is as vulnerable to doping and other integrity abuses as any other sport, warns Clare Egan, chair of the IBU Athletes’ Committee.
But, speaking exclusively with the Biathlon Integrity Unit in a Zoom interview from her home in New York, Clare, one of our most experienced athletes who is competing in her last season as a professional biathlete, has some great advice for anyone who might be tempted to break the rules.

Doping is “not necessary, and I’m an example of that,” she says, pointing to her “breakout” season when she had the fastest courstime in one of the IBU World Cups, as a clean 31-year-old athlete. “If I can do that, truly anyone can,” she says.
Education about athletes’ rights and responsibilities is key, she says, stressing that investigations by the BIU are increasingly productive in uncovering doping.
And, while the need to provide Whereabouts information can be inconvenient and annoying for clean athletes, “it’s a very small sacrifice to pay to play our part in keeping the sport clean.”
Prior to 2018, Clare says she doubted the effectiveness of the systems in place to protect biathlon from doping and other integrity issues. But now, she concludes, with the formation of the BIU and other integrity measures, “I can say that the biggest improvement is that I, and I hope many of my fellow athletes, have much more faith in the system that we have in place to deal with integrity issues.”
To watch the interview, click here.

To read the interview transcript click here: