Ten years later: Will the German biathlon relay team finally win gold?
Sochi (Russia) - Ten years ago, the German men's biathlon relay team celebrated a silver medal at the Sochi Winter Olympics. But it should have been gold, because Yevgeny Ustyugov (39) was proven to have doped during the Russian relay team's triumph.
Despite this, Erik Lesser (36), Daniel Böhm (38), Arnd Peiffer (37) and Simon Schempp (36, all end of career) still only have silver in their display case.
The quartet is now a little closer to gold, as the International Biathlon Union (IBU) announced on Tuesday that the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected an appeal by Ustyugov.
In October 2020, the CAS had retroactively banned the Russian for four years as it considered it proven that Ustyugov was doped. This had been revealed by abnormalities in his biological blood passport.
The athlete appealed against the ruling and his lawyers explained the excessively high haemoglobin levels with a genetic anomaly that he had inherited from his parents. CAS has now rejected this appeal.
Will Martin Fourcade also win gold 14 years after the Vancouver Winter Games?
Ustyugov can now appeal against the CAS decision to the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT). The medals can only be redistributed once the SFT has dealt with the case.
However, it is unclear whether Ustyugov will take this step because, according to the IBU, such an appeal is only permissible for "narrow procedural reasons".
Should the ban be confirmed, the Germans would get gold, the Austrians silver and Norway bronze.
Legend Ole Einar Björndalen (50) and the current dominator of the scene, Johannes Thingnes Bö (31), would thus extend their Olympic medal collection.
The medals from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games could also be reallocated. Ustyugov won gold in the mass start there. If the result is annulled, the already retired Frenchman Martin Fourcade (36) will take gold, the Slovakian Pavol Hurajt (46) silver and the Austrian Christoph Sumann (48) bronze.