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Trio of Russian athletes barred from FIL Luge World Cup stage in US

The 2025/2026 FIL Luge World Cup stage in Lake Placid is scheduled for December 19-20

NEW YORK, December 17. /TASS/. Russian athletes Alexander Gorbatsevich, Sofia Mazur and Ksenia Shamova have been barred from the 2025/2026 FIL Luge World Cup stage in Lake Placid, New York, the Associated Press news agency reported on Wednesday.

The decision to bar the three Russian athletes was made by the Executive Board of the International Luge Federation (FIL) allegedly due to their falling short of eligibility criteria.

Three more Russian lugers - Matvey Perestoronin, Pavel Repilov and Daria Olesik, are expected to participate in the upcoming tournament as they participated in the official training sessions on December 16.

The 2025/2026 FIL Luge World Cup stage in Lake Placid is scheduled for December 19-20.

FIL’s previous sanctions against Russia

The International Luge Federation barred Russian athletes from competing in its sponsored tournaments since March 2022 after the escalation of the situation in Ukraine. In June 2024, the international federation opted to vote on the extension of sanctions against the Russian athletes.

On July 14, RLF President Gart announced to TASS that the federation decided to protect the rights of its national luge athletes in court. Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Mikhail Degtyarev stated later on his Telegram channel that he had filed an appeal against the decision of the FIL Congress disputing the Russian athletes’ ban.

In early November, the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld Russia’s appeal against the previously imposed ban by the International Luge Federation and ruled to clear Russian lugers and bobsledders for participation in international tournaments.

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