Russian runner was doped in 2014
Biathlon relay subsequently receives Olympic gold
19.09.2025 – 5:09 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
This medal is delayed at the age of eleven. Germany’s biathlon men can look forward to an Olympic victory afterwards. There could be an honor in the coming year.
More than a decade has passed since the gripping relay race from Sochi. Now it is clear: Erik Lesser, Daniel Böhm, Arnd Peiffer and Simon Schempp are official Olympic champions. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the German Quartet the gold medal – retrospectively for the 2014 winter games in Russia.
The reason for the decision is the proven doping refusal of the Russian runner Jewgeni Ustjugow. The Russian and his team had won before Germany at the time, but was later convicted of doping. His last appeal was rejected by the Swiss Federal Court in spring.
On February 22, 2014, Simon Schempp at the finish line by 3.5 seconds behind the Russian final runner Anton Schipulin. But because its teammate Ustjugow was retrospectively blocked and its results from the period from January 24, 2010 to the end of the 2013/2014 season, Germany is taking first place. Austria receives silver, Norway bronze.
This ends a long hanging game. Erik Lesser had already said the dpa in May: the decision was long overdue. “I am pleased that this is now really off the table and end. And I can look forward to a new medal with a new color.” Even after eleven years, it was correct that someone moved in when playing unfairly, Lesser continued.
The German biathletes had already returned their previous silver medals to the German Olympic Sports Association. Now there is hope that the new medals will be presented in a worthy framework. Arnd Peiffer advocated having the honor at the next winter games in Italy-ideally in the Biathlon Stadium of Antholz. The IOC wants to examine this option together with the organizers and the IBU biathlon world association.
The IBU assumes that in the course of the state -directed doping system, data in the 2014 home games were manipulated in the Moscow control laboratory. At Ustjugow, abnormalities in the biological blood pass had also been found.
In addition to the relay gold of Sochi, Ustjugow also loses his further success. These include a gold and bronze medal at the games in Vancouver 2010 and two silver medals from the 2011 World Cup.