Delayed Gold: German Biathletes Experience Mixed Emotions

German Biathletes Celebrate a Long-Awaited Victory

Arnd Peiffer, Erik Lesser, Simon Schempp, and Daniel Böhm are poised to be retrospectively honored as Olympic relay champions. However, their feelings are anything but straightforward.

More than a decade after the Sochi Winter Olympics, this quartet of German biathlon greats is on the brink of a long-awaited gold medal win.

On Monday, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU) announced that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had dismissed Yevgeny Ustjugov's appeal related to his doping suspension and the subsequent annulment of his results from 2010 to 2014.

As a result, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is set to award gold medals to the German team: Erik Lesser, Daniel Böhm, Arnd Peiffer, and Simon Schempp.

In a statement on social media, the German Ski Association (DSV) expressed cautious optimism, noting that the legal saga "seems to finally be coming to an end." Yet they acknowledged the bittersweet nature of the announcement: "While we are happy about our men’s retroactive Olympic victory, we mourn the loss of genuine golden celebrations and the emotions that should accompany such triumphs. Nonetheless, justice prevails, and we look forward to witnessing more fair relay moments in the future."

Just 3.5 Seconds from Gold

Back in October 2020, Ustjugov, who retired after clinching relay gold in 2014, was suspended by the CAS for breaching anti-doping regulations stemming from anomalies in his biological passport.

Ustjugov's defense team claimed that his elevated hemoglobin levels resulted from a genetic condition within his family.

In November 2020, both Ustjugov and fellow suspended athlete Svetlana Sleptsova appealed the initial ruling.

A recent statement confirmed that "the CAS rejected the appeals by Mr. Ustjugov and Ms. Sleptsova against the initial rulings in their respective cases regarding anti-doping violations (ADRV)."

With this decision, it is highly likely that Lesser, Böhm, Peiffer, and Schempp will soon be able to celebrate their well-deserved gold medals. At the Sochi Games, the DSV team originally took home the silver, finishing a mere 3.5 seconds behind Ustjugov's team, which had its victory tainted by doping infractions.