Russian canoeist Shtokalov waits for 2016 Olympics bronze from IOC for four years already
Ilia Shtokalov emphasized that he had already picked the Olympic Museum in Lausanne as a place where he could be awarded, but nobody had invited him
MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Russian canoeist Ilia Shtokalov is confused why the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is still unable to award him the 2016 Summer Olympics bronze medal, although the decision in this regard was made four years ago, the athlete told TASS on Monday.
At the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, Shtokalov finished fourth in men’s singles 1,000m sprint. The bronze went to Moldova’s Sergei Tarnovski, who was later disqualified after his doping tests proved positive for performance enhancing drugs.
Tarnovski filed an appeal against his disqualification with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but the Swiss-based court rejected the appeal on July 11, 2018. In August 2018 the IOC announced its decision to award the 2016 Olympics bronze to Shtokalov and offered the Russian athlete to choose the date and place, where the medal would be handed over to him.
"My medal has not made its trip to me as it is still unable to cross the closed borders," Shtokalov said. "I don’t even know when it [the medal] may arrive."
"I was earlier offered a set of venue options, where I can be awarded with this medal. I picked the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, but they are not inviting me," Shtokalov added.
The 2016 Olympic gold in men’s singles canoeing 1,000m sprint went to Germany’s Sebastian Brendel and the silver was packed by Brazilian canoeist Isaquias Queiroz.
Russia’s global sports isolation
On February 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
Early this month, IOC President Thomas Bach said in an interview with Germany’s Sport Bild that it was still early to alter IOC’s February recommendations regarding Russia and Belarus. He said in particular "We still do not recommend inviting athletes from Russia and Belarus to tournaments. They still have no anthems, no flags, no national colors."