LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Almost 15 years after the Vancouver Olympics, a ruling by sport's highest court in a Russian doping case is set to give French biathlon star Martin Fourcade another gold medal.
The International Biathlon Union said Tuesday that the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed an appeal by Evgeny Ustyugov, who crossed the line first ahead of Fourcade in the 15-kilometer mass start event at the 2010 Winter Games.
The Russian biathlete had appealed against an October 2020 ruling by a CAS tribunal that he was guilty of blood doping detected in his biological passport.
The CAS appeal judges upheld the original verdict, which banned Ustyugov for four years and disqualified all his results from January 2010 through the end of the 2014 season. He also took a bronze medal with the Russian team in the men’s relay in Vancouver.
Though Ustyugov can pursue a further appeal to the Swiss supreme court on limited procedural grounds, the duty of reallocating the Vancouver medals could now go to the International Olympic Committee’s executive board.
Fourcade is set to be upgraded to gold, Pavol Hurajt of Slovakia should get silver and Christoph Sumann of Austria should move up to get bronze. After the IOC reallocates the medals, they could be presented at a ceremony during the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics.
Fourcade’s silver in Vancouver was the first of seven medals in his storied Olympic career. He went on to win two golds at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and three more in Pyeongchang in 2018, including the 15-kilometer mass start.
Fourcade has since moved on to Olympic politics. He was elected in 2022 to be an IOC member by fellow athletes, was part of the organizing committee of the 2024 Paris Olympics and is widely expected to have a big role in organizing the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps and Nice.
The 39-year-old Ustyugov, who is now retired from racing, has ongoing legal challenges against doping sanctions, the IBU said Tuesday.
He has filed an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal against a separate CAS judgment in February 2020 which disqualified his results at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Ustyugov was part of the men’s relay team at their home Winter Games that won gold ahead of Germany, Austria and Norway. The IOC has been unable yet to reallocate those medals.
That doping case, the biathlon governing body said, was based on data recovered from the Moscow testing laboratory that was shuttered during the scandal of Russian state-backed doping at Sochi and other Olympics.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
FILE - Gold medallist Russia's Evgeny Ustyugov, center, jubilates with silver medallist Martin Fourcade of France, left, and bronze medallist Slovakia's Pavol Hurajt during the flower ceremony after winning the men's 15 km biathlon mass start at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
NEW DELHI, India (AP) — A 13-year-old cricketer from India’s northern state of Bihar could become the sport's latest Twenty20 batting sensation.
The Rajasthan Royals think so highly of Vaibhav Suryavanshi that they paid $130,000 in the Indian Premier League's mega auction for his services, making him the youngest ever to be selected.
Suryavanshi came to the limelight last month when he scored a century against Australia's under-19 team off just 58 balls before he got out for 104.
At the age of 13 years and 187 days, Suryavanshi broke the record of Bangladesh’s present test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, who at the age of 14 years and 241 days held the previous record of scoring a century at youth level.
The Delhi Capitals also showed interest when the bid for Suryavanshi started at his base price of $35,500.
“He’s been to our high performance center in Nagpur, he had trials there and really impressed our coaching set-up there,” Rajasthan CEO Jake Lush McCrum said after the auction ended Monday. “He’s an incredible talent and of course you've got to have the confidence so he can step up to the IPL level.”
McCrum described Suryavanshi as a “hell of a talent” and hoped lots of work will go into the coming months before the IPL begins on March 14 with former Indian captain Rahul Dravid among the coaching panel of the franchise.
Suryavanshi idolizes legendary West Indian batter Brian Lara and often gets tips from former India batter Wasim Jaffer, with whom he met during an under-19 tournament in Bangladesh last year.
Suryavanshi's father, Sanjiv, is his coach and has worked with him since his son showed interest in the game at an early age.
“He is not just my son now, but entire Bihar’s son," the elder Suryavanshi told Press Trust of India. "My son has worked hard.”
The IPL does not have a formal minimum age requirement, but in 2020 the International Cricket Council set the minimum age of 15 for players to compete internationally.
However, the game’s governing body also said at that time that cricket boards can request permission to allow players under 15 to represent their country.
Prayas Ray Barman held the previous record of youngest player to win an IPL contract. He was 16 in 2019 when the Royal Challengers Bengaluru spent about $200,000 for him. But the wrist spinner faded away after playing just one match.
Pakistani batter Hasan Raza holds the record of youngest cricketer to make his test debut — the five-day cricket format — at the age of 14 years and 227 days in 1996.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, one the the youngest Indian cricket player to earn an Indian Premier League contract after Rajasthan Royals (RR) signed for approximately Indian rupees 1.10 crore or USD $ 130481, walks to bat during local Ranji Trophy cricket league, in Patna, India, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/ After Alam)
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, one the the youngest Indian cricket player to earn an Indian Premier League contract after Rajasthan Royals (RR) signed for approximately Indian rupees 1.10 crore or USD $ 130481, poses for a photograph during local Ranji Trophy cricket league, in Patna, India, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/ After Alam)
