President of the Russian Biathlon Union (SBR) Viktor Maigurov said on Match TV that the consideration of the Russian side’s appeal against the decision of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) to exclude Russian athletes from international competitions will most likely take place in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in early February.

Russian biathletes have been suspended from international competitions since 2022 due to the conflict in Ukraine. In December, the RBU announced that a lawsuit had been filed with CAS to challenge the exclusion of athletes from Russia from competing under the auspices of the IBU. The International Biathlon Union refused to expedite the claim.

— I talked to CAS about the claim for two days. The IBU is delaying (the consideration of the claim) by hook or by crook. There are no clear regulations in CAS, but, as our lawyers said, this is the beginning of February,” Maigurov said on Match TV.

Russian Margarita Boldyreva won the sprint race at the fourth stage of the Alfa-Bank Commonwealth Biathlon Cup, which takes place in Raubichi (Belarus).

Boldyreva covered the 7.5 km distance in 23 minutes 58 seconds, making one mistake at two shooting ranges.

The second was another representative of Russia, Anastasia Tomshina (lag – 21.2 seconds, 1 miss), the top three was rounded out by Russian Anastasia Khalili (+21.2 seconds, 2 misses).

Later on Friday, the men’s sprint will take place in Raubichi. Watch the live broadcast of the race from 15:20 on the Match TV and Match! Arena”, as well as the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.

The Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee Mikhail Degtyarev said that the maximum number of Russian participants in the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy will be 13 people.

Previously, invitations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the Olympics were accepted by Russian skiers Savely Korostelev and Daria Nepryaeva, speed skaters Ksenia Korzhova and Anastasia Semenova, figure skaters Pyotr Gumennik and Adelia Petrosyan, ski mountaineer Nikita Filippov, as well as short track speed skaters Ivan Posashkov and Alena Krylova.

— A maximum of 13 people will compete at the Olympics. We’ll watch, we’ll definitely be rooting for it. The discussion about neutral status is difficult. As a citizen and a person who sat in the State Duma for 13 years, I understand this. But preventing athletes from performing is wrong. They compete for Russia, bring medals for Russia. And at the same time, we are recovering (at international competitions) with varying degrees of success,” Degtyarev said at the “Knowledge. State”.

The 2026 Olympics will take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo from February 6 to 22. The Russians will participate in the competition in a neutral status.