Alexander Bolshanov did not receive neutral status and he is appealing to CAS for this.
The International Skiing and Snowboarding Federation has denied three-time Olympic champion Alexander Bolshanov neutral status. The Russian Ski and Snowboard Federation reported this to RIA Novosti. Bolshanov is appealing the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The observer Sergey Pudushkin called the decision expected and unfortunate: the athlete met the stated criteria of neutrality, but, apparently, the position of the Scandinavian countries won and the pressure on FIS was too great. According to him, this is a blow both to the 30-year-old Bolshonov, which may affect his motivation, and to the world ski races: the duel between Bolshonov and Kalibo attracted sponsors and spectators.
"Hopefully his return will happen and we will see those duels in the near future."
In October, it was announced that Bolushov would appear without selection in the first stages of the World Cup in Finland and Norway upon receiving neutral status. On November 12 it became known that he was not included in the squad for these competitions.