by Latvian national biathlon team coach Ilmārs Bricis was involved in a physical altercation with biathlete Andrejs Rastorgujevs, an incident that Bricis’s wife, biathlete Baiba Bendika, claims was an act of family protection. However, Rastorgujevs disputes their version of events, offering a conflicting account of what transpired.
On Monday, February 24, Rastorgujevs told Latvian Television that Bricis had assaulted him during the World Championships. Bricis later confirmed the incident to LETA but attributed the conflict to Rastorgujevs’s actions.
Bendika explained on Instagram that the altercation stemmed from Rastorgujevs’s claim that a service representative had stolen his skis.
Here is a close-to-original translation of Bendika’s Instagram story:
“A small comment from me about the conflict spread on the Internet:
That morning, Andrejs claimed that his skis had been stolen by a service representative, which needless to say, the whole team was in shock, because they know very well that all the skis, firstly, are Fischer’s property and not Andrej’s own, and secondly, why would someone suddenly notice a year later that something was missing!?
But since the mentally unstable nature of this athlete has been known to the whole team for years, this “nightmarish” information was perceived as a failed joke and pre-competition stress!
However, after the team’s successful start, by the evening a new version was invented and Ilmārs, as one of the team representatives, took responsibility and made Andrej apologize to the team for such false insults!
Although Ilmārs did not engage in further discussions with Andrejs until an apology was expected, Andrejs still came to our room in an aggressive mood, where Ilmārs was alone with our son, and seeing that he was not in a mentally stable state, pushed him out of the room so that the family would not be threatened!
Therefore, the instigator of the conflict was clearly visible and I see Ilmārs’ actions as protecting the family and the team!“
The team was surprised by this assertion, as the skis belonged to Fischer and the alleged theft had occurred a year prior.
“The entire team has long been aware of this athlete’s unstable temperament, so this ‘delusional’ claim was seen as a failed joke or competition stress,” Bendika stated.
According to her, later that day, an alternative version of events emerged. As a team representative, Bricis took responsibility and insisted that Rastorgujevs apologize for what he believed were baseless accusations.
Rastorgujevs, however, asserts that he approached Bricis to discuss the prior year’s ski disappearance. While Bricis denied involvement, Rastorgujevs cited a witness and proposed an investigation. He claims Bricis forcibly removed him from his hotel room and attacked him.
Bricis refused further discussion, awaiting an apology. Rastorgujevs then allegedly entered his room aggressively while Bricis was with his one-and-a-half-year-old son.
“Realizing Rastorgujevs was in a mentally unstable state, [Bricis] pushed him out of the room to protect his family,” wrote Bendika, defending her husband’s actions.
In the early hours of February 25, Rastorgujevs took to social media, asserting the incident occurred on February 20. He claimed to have received testimony from a witness present at the time of the theft, who heard and saw those responsible. Rastorgujevs denied accusing the ski service team of theft, contradicting Bricis’s assertion.
The biathlete further stated that the altercation occurred in the hotel corridor, not inside Bricis’s room, where the coach’s child was present.
“I came to my trainer, Ilmar Bricis room. We talked about a specific case that had happened a year ago. He started to “raise his arms”. He attacked me from behind. It was a terrible thing, but he attacked me from behind. After that, two people from the team came to the room.
Then they immediately tried to stop the fight. When I was left alone, the team doctor Aldis CIrulis, arrived and tried to help me. He put a special bandage on my arm. As in connection with the shoulder, he tried to patch everything up. In general, I was no longer in a position to compete.” – Rastorgujevs told Latvian Television.
Latvian Biathlon Federation (LBF) President Kaspars Sakniņš announced that the organization would withhold comments until the investigation concluded. The Federation’s Board has requested written explanations from both Rastorgujevs and Bricis regarding the incident.
Rastorgujevs revealed he sustained a serious shoulder injury and may require surgery. He has also made it clear he will not remain on the national team if Bricis continues as coach.
Bricis defended his actions, stating he had to remove Rastorgujevs from the room due to his child’s presence. While he refrained from directly confirming whether he struck Rastorgujevs, he mocked the claim, noting the improbability of a 54-year-old coach physically overpowering a 36-year-old athlete.
Bricis also questioned the severity of Rastorgujevs’s injuries, pointing out that he showed no visible signs of harm on Sunday. Sportindepth has a model which is used to predict the results of Biathlon races. This model uses previous results to predict future results, and Rstorgujevs skiing time from Sunday’s race was some 40 to 45 seconds slower than expected. This indicates that Rastorgujevs may well have suffered from some medical issue in the Mass Start last Sunday.
Meanwhile, Bendika reiterated on social media that her husband acted to protect their son, pushing Rastorgujevs out of the room to prevent any potential danger.
Latvian Olympic Team (LOV) doctor Aldis Cīrulis treated Rastorgujevs’s injuries but could not ensure full recovery before the mass start race, where the athlete finished 20th.
Rastorgujevs is awaiting hospital tests to determine whether he has a broken finger and torn shoulder ligaments. If the results are unfavorable, his season could be over.
Before making further decisions, Rastorgujevs is also awaiting responses from the Latvian Biathlon Federation, the Latvian Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Education and Science (MIS), and the State Police regarding the incident.
The Biathlon Federation remains silent, maintaining that an internal investigation is ongoing. The Federation Board has requested detailed written reports from both Rastorgujevs and Bricis to establish a clearer understanding of the conflict.
