Biathlon: Russian federation sues to join Olympic qualification

Russia’s biathlon federation has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the exclusion of its athletes from qualification races for the Winter Olympics. According to the report, legal experts see little chance of success.

A key barrier is that most Russian biathletes are formally members of the country’s armed forces. Under current eligibility rules, that status conflicts with the requirements for competing as ‘neutral athletes.’

The qualification landscape is also largely settled. Olympic quota places have already been distributed. The only remaining route is via wildcard points—limited to a maximum of two per gender and per National Olympic Committee—which can still be accrued at World Cup events until mid‑January. However, Russian athletes cannot use that path either, as they have been excluded from International Biathlon Union (IBU) competitions since 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The article concludes that, given both the neutrality criteria and the timing of qualification, Russia’s prospects of fielding biathletes at the Olympics via this legal action are slim.