Press releases

MINSK, 2 November (BelTA) – Following the disqualification of Olympic champion Alexander Legkov of Russia, Belarusian skier Sergei Dolidovich moved up to the 4^th in the Men’s 50km Mass Start overall standings at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, BelTA has learned.

The Disciplinary Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) led by Denis Oswald recognized two Russian skiers, Alexander Legkov and Evgeny Belov, guilty in committing anti-doping rule violations. The results of the athletes in Sochi were wiped from the records. Alexander Legkov was ordered to return the gold medal he won in the Men's 50km Cross Country Skiing Event and the silver medal taken in the Men's 4x10km Cross Country Skiing Event in 2014. Both the athletes were banned from attending the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang and all the subsequent Olympics. The information is available on the IOC official website.

The IOC Disciplinary Commission was also considering the cases of Russian skiers Maksim Vylegzhagin, Aleksei Petukhov, Evgenia Shapovalova and Yulia Ivanova. According to the Russian mass media, the decisions on the above-mentioned athletes can be the same.

After the IOC announcement, Alexander Legkov’s gold medal should now go to Russia’s Maksim Vylegzhanin who is also under investigation for violating anti-doping rules. Sergei Dolidovich of Belarus, who finished fifth in the men’s 50km event in Sochi, now moves up to the 4^th position, and, judging by the events to date, may get into the top three of the 2014 Olympics.

Sergei Dolidovich has just completed his training camp in Vuokatti, Finland ahead of his seventh Olympic Games. The Belarusian will continue training with the Belarusian national team for the coming season in Muonio, Finland.