Biathlon squad officially receives Olympic gold medal from Sochi.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that the German biathlon team will be receiving the gold medal for the relay event from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, following the disqualification of the Russian team's Evgeni Ustyugov due to doping. Ustyugov, who previously won gold in the mass start, gold with the relay, and two silver medals at the 2011 World Championships, was caught doping and failed with his appeals against all legal instances. As a result, his anomalies found in his biological passport led to the annulment of his competition results. This means that Germany now moves up to the gold position in the relay event. The silver medal in the relay event is awarded to Austria, and the bronze medal goes to Norway. The Swiss Federal Court rejected two appeals by Ustyugov against decisions regarding his doping ban and the annulment of his competition results. The medal reallocation for the German biathletes, including the relay gold from Sochi, is expected to take place at a future Olympic event. Arnd Peiffer and Erik Lesser, members of the original relay Olympic champions in Sochi 2014, had already returned their silver medals to the German Olympic Sports Confederation a few months ago. Daniel Böhm and Simon Schempp, the other two team members, were also part of the historic victory in 2014. In the final race of 2014, Schempp lost by 3.5 seconds to Anton Shipulin in a thrilling finale. The IBU assumes that the Russians manipulated data in the Moscow anti-doping laboratory during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Arnd Peiffer expressed interest in receiving a medal handover at the Winter Olympics next year in Italy, preferably at the biathlon stadium in Antholz. The IOC will offer the option for a medal handover in coordination with the local organizers and the International Biathlon Union (IBU). Erik Lesser expressed his relief about the situation, stating, "I'm glad that this is finally off the table and done. And I can look forward to a new medal in a new color." The medal reallocation for the German biathletes marks the end of a years-long wait for the team to receive the gold medal. More than eleven and a half years after the race, they are retroactively awarded the gold medal due to the disqualification of the Russian team. The IOC made this announcement on Friday after a meeting of the Executive Committee. The exact details of the medal handover ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy are yet to be announced.
