Biathlon: Sochi relay to receive Olympic gold at the 2026 Games

Germany’s men’s biathlon relay team from the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi will receive their reallocated gold medals during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina. Former athlete and ARD expert Arnd Peiffer announced the decision during the TV broadcast of the “Biathlon auf Schalke” World Team Challenge.

Peiffer stated that it has now been decided that he and his teammates Erik Lesser, Daniel Böhm and Simon Schempp will be awarded the gold medals for the 4x7.5 km relay. In Sochi, the German quartet originally finished second behind host nation Russia. However, Russia’s victory was later annulled after the disqualification of Evgeny Ustyugov for a doping violation.

Following a series of appeals by Ustyugov to the IOC bodies, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and ultimately the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, the reallocation of medals was finalized in September 2025. The ceremony is planned for February 2026 in the biathlon stadium in Antholz (Anterselva), to be held between races at the Games.

Peiffer—2018 Olympic sprint champion—will thus add a second Olympic gold to his résumé, while Lesser, Böhm and Schempp will receive their first Olympic gold medals. Austria’s team of Christoph Sumann, Daniel Mesotitsch, Simon Eder and Dominik Landertinger is elevated from bronze to silver, and Norway takes bronze with Johannes Thingnes Bø, Tarjei Bø, Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Emil Hegle Svendsen. Of the athletes mentioned, only Austria’s Simon Eder is still active on the World Cup circuit, having recently placed ninth in the pursuit in Annecy.