SALZBURG, Austria (AP) — Russian athletes and sports bodies are taking legal action in an attempt to compete in biathlon at February's Winter Olympics after overturning bans in other sports as the qualification period draws to a close.
The International Biathlon Union said it was informed Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that eight Russian athletes, along with Russia's national biathlon and Paralympic bodies, had filed a claim against it.
The IBU defended its policy on Russia, saying its members had “strong legal grounds” for a vote to suspend Russia's national biathlon body and its athletes.
“The IBU also reiterates that the IBU event and competition rules and the IBU constitution do not allow for a neutral-athlete pathway,” it added. “The IBU is confident in its position and will cooperate fully with CAS.”
Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyaryov said the aim of the legal action was to ensure Russians could qualify for the Milan Cortina Olympics in comments Tuesday to Russian broadcaster Match TV, calling the IBU's stance “absolutely outrageous.”
Over the last two months, legal rulings have overturned blanket bans on Russians in Winter Olympic sports like skiing, snowboard, luge and biathlon, requiring them to let in vetted athletes as neutrals in line with International Olympic Committee recommendations.
IOC guidelines to sports bodies have kept Russian athletes excluded from team events like hockey and curling in a system enforced for the Paris Summer Games last year. Biathlon is the only remaining sport on the Winter Olympic program which offers medals in individual events but no pathway for Russians to compete as neutrals.
Separately Thursday, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation allowed two more cross-country skiers from Belarus to compete internationally as neutral athletes, a day after giving permission to nine other skiers from Russia and Belarus.
AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“A dazzling delight for all ages” Read moreRodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Celebrate the season with us at CY Danceworks’ Christmas Open House on Sunday, December 7th! Read moreChristmas Open House-Free Dance Classes, Holiday Crafts, Food, Pics with Santa & More!!!
Interact with live nativity characters; pet various animals; sing along with Christmas carol… Read moreChristmas Under the Stars
LittleFoot said:
Frank Sinatra and Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston
LittleFoot said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.