Some victories have a bitter taste, even more so when they are obtained off the slopes and retroactively. Until now a five-time Olympic biathlon champion, Martin Fourcade can now boast of having also been a gold medalist during his first Winter Games, in 2010 in Vancouver. The Frenchman will be able to recover this title following the rejection by the Court of Arbitration for Sport of the appeal made by the Russian Evgeny Ustyugov: crowned in Canada, the latter was then disqualified for doping, but contested this sanction.
In Vancouver, then a young twenty-something and hopeful in his discipline, Martin Fourcade finished in second place in the “mass start” (race with a mass start), 10 seconds behind Evgeny Ustyugov, despite three shooting errors, synonymous with penalties. of time, against zero faults for the Russian. The Catalan had achieved his best result in the various individual events of these Winter Olympics.
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Evgeny Ustyugov was sanctioned in 2020 for doping, the analysis of his biological passport between 2010 and 2014 having revealed anomalies. The Russian also lost another gold medal, this time obtained in 2014 in Sochi (Russia), for steroid use. The Russian biathlete appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020.
The presidency of the Organizing Committee for the 2030 Winter Games in perspective
“All competitive results obtained by Mr. Ustyugov between January 24, 2010 and his retirement at the end of the 2013-2014 season are invalidated, including the medals, points and prizes associated therewith,” announced on Tuesday, November 26, the Biathlon Integrity Unit and the International Biathlon Federation.
The authority specifies that “Mr Ustyugov can appeal this decision to the Swiss Federal Court (TFS)” and adds “that such an appeal is only authorized for narrow procedural reasons. »
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With this late gold medal, Martin Fourcade consolidates his status as the most decorated French athlete at the Olympic Games, both summer and winter. With seven medals, including five gold (individual and pursuit in 2014, pursuit, mass start and mixed relay in 2018), he is still ahead of judoka Teddy Riner, medalist seven times and titled five times (including three individually).
The now six-time Olympic champion is a very serious candidate for the presidency of the Organizing Committee for the 2030 Winter Games in France, whose decision is imminent. Another good news could arrive very quickly for Fourcade.
