Biathlon-Sixteen years on, Fourcade finally tastes sweet Vancouver gold

Advertisement Sport Biathlon-Sixteen years on, Fourcade finally tastes sweet Vancouver gold Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Biathlon - Medal Reallocation Ceremony - Anterselva Biathlon Arena, South Tyrol, Italy - February 15, 2026. Martin Fourcade of France receives a gold medal during the medal reallocation ceremony REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Biathlon - Medal Reallocation Ceremony - Anterselva Biathlon Arena, South Tyrol, Italy - February 15, 2026. Martin Fourcade of France receives a gold medal during the medal reallocation ceremony REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Biathlon - Medal Reallocation Ceremony - Anterselva Biathlon Arena, South Tyrol, Italy - February 15, 2026. Gold medallist Martin Fourcade of France, silver medallist Pavol Hurajt of Slovakia and bronze medallist Christoph Sumann of Austria during the medal reallocation ceremony REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez 15 Feb 2026 10:31PM Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST ANTERSELVA, ITALY, Feb 15 : Sixteen years after coming second to Evgeny Ustyugov in the biathlon 15km mass start at the Vancouver Games, Frenchman Martin Fourcade was finally awarded the gold medal following the disqualification of the Russian for anti-doping violations.Stripped of his competitive results, Ustyugov's final appeal was rejected by a Swiss court in 2025, resulting in the Frenchman's medal being upgraded from silver to gold, and on Sunday it was finally hung around his neck following the men's Olympic pursuit race at the Milano Cortina Games."Sixteen years, it has been a long journey - I never thought a biathlon race could last that long," Fourcade joked to Reuters, his 2010 gold nestling in his pocket. "This medal today was not about the emotion from Vancouver. It was about the message we send about the fight for clean sport, the message we send about what the Olympics are - not only a sports competition, but a place where you need to follow some rules, to live together and to be able to share that common space." Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day. This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp’s partners. Loading The International Biathlon Union announced on Saturday that medals stripped from Ustyugov and his Russian teammates would be re-distributed at the Antholz-Antersselva Biathlon Arena, one of the sport's most famous venues. "The reallocation follows the disqualification of all of Evgeny Ustyugov's (RUS) competitive results from 2010-2014 due to anti-doping rule violations based on abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport and evidence from the Moscow Laboratory Information Management System," the IBU said in a statement.For Fourcade, who went on to win two gold medals at the Sochi Games in 2014 and three more in Pyeongchang four years later, the wait was worth it. CHILDREN PRESENT"It means a lot to me to get that medal and to show the world, to show the kids watching TV, to show my kids present here in the stadium, that justice is sometimes too long, but we need to follow the rules," he explained. "We need to respect the other, and it's not only about sport and competition, it's about our common village, it's about our values. It's about what makes us humans."And I'm really happy that this medal is also this symbol, and much more than sport."The ceremony also had the German relay team from the 2014 Olympics receive their gold medals following Russia's disqualification as Fourcade's Olympic tally finally ended up at six gold medals. "I'm feeling lucky to be gold medallist today, and you know, my story is quite unique. I was not a silver medallist, and I'm not a gold medallist (in 2010) - I have been both, and that's my story, and I love it," the 37-year-old said. Source: Reuters Newsletter Recommended Read Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day. Sign up for our newsletters Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox Subscribe here Get the CNA app Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories Download here Get WhatsApp alerts Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app Join here Advertisement Also worth reading Content is loading... Advertisement Expand to read the full story Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST