The Austrian athlete Christoph Sumann and the Ukrainian men’s relay team officially received their reallocated awards today during a public ceremony held in Hochfilzen, Austria, during the BMW IBU World Cup.

Sumann was awarded the 2009/2010 World Cup Men’s Mass Start Score trophy, while the Ukrainian men’s relay team - Olexander Bilanenko, Andriy Deryzemlya, Sergii Semenov and Serguei Sednev - received the silver medals from the 2011 IBU World Championships. The team was represented at the ceremony by former athlete Sergii Semenov and Ukrainian National Federation President Ivan Krulko. The awards followed the annulment of Evgeny Ustyugov’s results due to anti-doping violations, as announced earlier this year by the International Biathlon Union (IBU).

Athletes, officials and spectators gathered to witness the moment, reflecting the IBU’s continued commitment to fairness and integrity in biathlon. IBU President Olle Dahlin has previously underlined the importance of restoring results to clean athletes, stating that such reallocations “provide deserving athletes with the recognition they rightfully earned through their dedication, hard work, and commitment to fair play.”

Further medal reallocations from the IBU World Championships Biathlon 2011 include the new silver medallist is Lukas Hofer (ITA) and the new bronze medallist is Tarjei Boe (NOR).

More information as well as other reallocated awards, can be found here: IBU EB confirms medal reallocation and takes important decisions for biathlon’s future.

Photos: Manzoni/Nordic Focus