Ustiugov Not Invited To Participate in Olympics?

Sergey Ustiugov might miss the Olympic Games in Pyeonchang.

That follows from leaked contents of the International Olympic Committee letter to the Russian Olympic Committee

The document allegedly contains provisional list of Russian athletes that the IOC will invite to participate in the Games. After Russia was suspended last month, the IOC reserved the right to send personal invitations to Russian sportsmen it deems fit to partake under a neutral flag.

Ustiugov, a double winner of the World Championships in Lahti in 2017 is absent from the list – along with the two other leading Russian athletes – Anton Shipulin, biathlon and Viktor Ahn , short-track speedskating.

Neither of the three were ever mentioned in either the McLaren Report or Rodchenkov testimony as suspects. Neither of the three were ever caught using doing and were always assumed “safe to go” based on their clean record.

All three, however, participated in the Sochi Olympics.

The IOC “invitation to partake” list may or may not be final – the deadline for announcing it is January 28th. A representative of the Russian NOC said a request for clarification as to why Ustiugov, Shipulin and Ahn are absent was sent to Lausanne.