– I was properly put in place and thus scolded according to notes, says Rakel Rauntun to news. The former general secretary of the Norwegian Biathlon Union now tells about the phone call she received from Anders Besseberg on the eve of 2016. Rauntun sits with the letter that triggered the reaction. Besseberg is charged with gross corruption. He denies criminal guilt after the indictment, in the case which starts on 9 January in Buskerud District Court. The prosecution accuses him, among other things, of having accepted bribes in the form of prostitutes offered by Russians, gifts of watches and arranged hunting trips. When she got Besseberg on the line, Rauntun and the Norwegian federation had just sent a critical letter to the then president of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). The letter was sent after the extensive Russian doping cheat during the Olympics in Sochi had recently been uncovered through an investigative report. – Criticism In the letter, the Norwegian leaders called for Besseberg and his IBU board to take action after the Russian doping revelation. Rauntun says that Besseberg must have been very provoked. There was a conflict. – It was a regular insult considering that we didn’t know what we were doing, says Rauntun. Former general secretary Rakel Rauntun of the Norwegian Biathlon Federation with the letter the Norwegian Biathlon Federation sent to Besseberg and the International Biathlon Federation. Photo: Hans Henrik Bårtvedt/NRKT Former general secretary Rakel Rauntun of the Norwegian Biathlon Federation with the letter the Norwegian Biathlon Federation sent to Besseberg and the International Biathlon Federation. Photo: Hans Henrik Bårtvedt/news Among other things, the Norwegian letter stated that “the systematic doping that takes place in Russia causes extreme damage to our sport”. That same autumn, however, the Russian city of Tyumen had been awarded the WC. It was later revealed that people had been offered money to vote for the Russian World Cup candidate. The Norwegian federation now wanted Russia to be stripped of all competitions. – I was responsible for the letter. That we had sent the letter because we thought it was important to point out, says Rauntun. Disputes claims Besseberg has been presented with the contents of this news case through the lawyers. Besseberg has asked his defenders to answer news on his behalf in this and several other cases. He has not given his version of the content of this particular case. – Besseberg does not recognize himself in the description and disputes the allegations made against him. He does not want to comment on the allegations in more detail before the trial, says co-defendant Mikkel Toft Gimse to news. The letter, in which Norway also threatened to boycott competitions in Russia, first became known in December 2016. – That nations threaten a boycott to influence a process is not something that anyone appreciates, Besseberg told news at the time. Before the trial against Besseberg, Norwegian leaders are now opening up about what was going on behind the scenes. Because according to Rauntun, Besseberg followed up the phone conversation by calling in the management of the Norwegian Biathlon Union to a meeting to clean up the dishes. The Norwegian tops were put in place, says Rauntun. – It seemed that he was personally hurt and disappointed that we could do something like this, says Rauntun about the reaction to the letter they had sent. Anders Besseberg is interviewed by news in April 2018. At that time, the police had gone into action on his farm at Vestfossen. Photo: Yasmin Sunde Hoel / news The then biathlon president Erlend Slokvik was also present at the meeting. He remembers that Besseberg was angry, but felt that it was Rauntun who got to hear it the most. – It is also a bit fascinating. He attacked her much more than me when he disagreed, says Slokvik. Would investigate In a report, as an independent commission, made on behalf of the International Biathlon Federation, it is stated that Besseberg protected and defended Russian interests. The Russian Biathlon Union denies that Besseberg has defended Russian interests. But there were also others who reacted to Besseberg’s reaction when they wanted to investigate Russians. Former IBU board member Jim Carrabre says that Besseberg was provoked when, in the winter of 2016, he wanted a new investigation of the doping tests taken during the Sochi Olympics. Jim Carrabre, the former medical chief of the International Biathlon Union, during a video interview with news. Photo: news The reaction caused Carrabre to become concerned about what was going on. – He got very angry. He believed that I had no authority to do this. Why would I do that? And I thought; what a strange attitude. I thought he would be very happy, says Carrabre, who was the medical director of the IBU. Back in February 2016, Besseberg pointed out to news that it was Wada’s and the IOC’s responsibility to initiate an investigation into what happened around the time of the Olympics in Russia. He emphasized that it was they who were responsible for the doping tests. But the president of the IBU also told Reuters at the time that he would be positive if Carrabre wanted retesting of the IOC’s doping tests from the Olympics in the next board meeting. Later, it was revealed how the Russian cheating took place in the laboratory in Sochi, where doping samples were exchanged through a hole in the wall. The Russian Biathlon Union denies that Besseberg has defended Russian interests. Will explain himself Besseberg’s lawyer Christian B. Hjort has said that the 77-year-old feels prejudged. The trial will be the first time Besseberg has to explain himself concretely about the points in the indictment. – It is the only real opportunity he has to retaliate rather than trying to answer all rumours, views and opinions that are otherwise referred to him through the press, Hjort told news in December.
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