According to the SID news agency, electronic messages from Russia containing death threats were addressed to Swedish nationals Mattias Nilsson and Bjorn Ferry. Their positions in the South Korean Pyeongchang, where the Biathlon World Championship is held this year, were 26 for Nilsson and 40 for Ferry in the sprint and 37 and 31 in the pursuit, respectively.

Swedish biathlon officials and biathletes themselves, as well as their German coach, are among the most well-known in the fight against doping, including the case of three Russian athletes who were revealed to have failed dope tests last week.

Earlier this month, Pichler claimed that Russian biathletes had been “systematic” in their use of doping during the past few years and demanded the whole team be disqualified from both the World Championship 2009 and from the forthcoming Olympics in 2010. Swedish biathletes had previously discussed boycotting the final race in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Pichler said that he had been pushed around by a Russian official. “We are scared for our lives. If the IBU does not ensure our safety, we will not be able to go to Russia to compete. We have several athletes who have a chance to win the World Cup, but security is paramount,” Pichler told ZDF channel.

The three Russian biathletes – Ekaterina Yurieva, Albina Akhatova and Dmitry Yaroshenko – deny all accusations of doping. They have left Pyeongchang for Moscow after the announcement and have already applied to Mikhail Prokhorov, the head of the Russian Biathlon Union, urging him to begin an independent investigation.

In her interview with the Russia-based ‘Sport’ channel, Albina Akhatova confessed: “Those using dope could never have expected a positive attitude. I have always felt that Russia had is not well liked by the world, but after what has happened there, it looks like we are simply hated.”