Russian Ustiugov’s Result Annulled in Men’s Sprint at FIS Nordic Worlds after Incident with Norway’s Klaebo

February 21, 2019 (Seefeld, AUT) – The result of Russian skier Sergei Ustiugov during a race within the framework of the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships has been annulled, the press service of the International Ski Federation (FIS) informed.

Ustiugov pushes Klaebo after their heat ©

However, he will participate in the upcoming skiathlon event on February 23, Ustyugov’s German coach Markus Kramer stated. “He will participate in skiathlon,” Kramer reaffirmed.

During the race on Thursday, Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and Ustyugov bumped into each other on the track, and the Russian skier was on the verge of falling.

At the end of the race, Klaebo grabbed the gold with the result of 3 minutes 21.17 seconds, and his closest contender Federico Pellegrino completed the course taking silver with the result of 3 minutes 21.40 seconds. Another Russian skier Gleb Retivykh won the bronze, clocking the sprint distance in 3 minutes 22.54 seconds.

Ustiugov shoves Klaebo again after their heat ©

The incident on the track was not forgotten as after crossing the finish line Russia’s Ustyugov and Norway’s Klaebo were seen to be engaged in heated debates and Ustyugov gave him a shove. The referees at the championship flashed a yellow card for Ustyugov following this post-race incident. Ustyugov’s coach Markus Kramer said an appeal was filed, but it was later turned down by the organizers of the tournament.

It is noted that Ustyugov received two yellow cards, one for unsportsmanlike behavior, and one for creating obstacles for his opponent during the race.

The next race within the championship will take place on Saturday, with skiathlon taking place on the same day.

2 Comments For This Post

1. xcskier22, Montana, says:
   February 23rd, 2019 at 4:06 pm

   Klaebo is a coward, skis dirty and is arrogant. Clearly he moved towards his right when realized Ustiugov was coming up to him, then he made contact with Ustiugov, twice, in a span of a few meters. Why he wasn’t DQ’d or even given a yellow card for impeding and obstructing just speaks to the double standards of FIS. Had the roles been reversed, Ustiugov would have been DQ’d or relegated. I don’t blame Ustiugov for being angry. I probably would have said something to that dbag as well.

2. Mike, Haute Savoie, France says:
   February 26th, 2019 at 2:35 am

   I agree with you. In fact I go one step further. I was there on site, and to me it clearly looked like Ustiugov was already ‘there’ and that Klaebo cut across more or less over Ustiugov forcing the Russian to stand up, slow, and almost fall. Overtaking is one thing and is of course allowed. Cutting across another’s skis and impeding them in this fashion is not.

   This is the first time I’ve seen a card for shoving. There have been others in the past with other nationalities and no sanction at all. Depends on what team colors one is wearing.

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