Alexander Bessmertnykh (skier)

Alexander Andreyevich Bessmertnykh (Russian: Александр Андреевич Бессмертных, born 15 September 1986) is a Russian cross-country skier.[1] In December 2017, he was one of eleven Russian athletes who were banned for life from the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee, as a result of doping offences at the 2014 Winter Olympics.[2]

Alexander Bessmertnykh on medal ceremony 2019.

Alexander Bessmertnykh
Bessmertnykh in February, 2019
Country	Russia
Full name	Alexander Andreyevich Bessmertnykh
Born	15 September 1986 Beryozovsky, Kemerovo Oblast, Soviet Union
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
World Cup career
Seasons	2009, 2011–
Individual wins	0
Team wins	2
Indiv. podiums	6
Team podiums	3
Indiv. starts	138
Team starts	8
Overall titles	0 – (15th in 2017)
Discipline titles	0
Medal record Men's cross-country skiing Representing  Russia Olympic Games 2014 Sochi 4 × 10 km relay World Championships 2017 Lahti 4 × 10 km relay 2019 Seefeld 15 km classical 2019 Seefeld 4 × 10 km relay U23 World Championships 2009 Praz de Lys-Sommand 30 km skiathlon 2009 Praz de Lys-Sommand 15 km freestyle
Updated on 1 March 2020.

Career

He represented Russia at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. On 16 February he ran the second (classical) leg in the men's team relay, together with his teammates Dmitry Yaparov, Alexander Legkov, and Maxim Vylegzhanin, and originally won a silver medal.[3] In December 2017, he was one of eleven Russian athletes who were banned for life from the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee, after doping offences at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Bessmertnykh's results from the 2014 Winter Olympics were annulled.[4] On 1 February 2018, their results were restored as a result of the successful appeal.[5]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[1]

Olympic Games

• 1 medal – (1 silver)

Year	Age	15 km  individual	30 km   skiathlon	50 km  mass start	Sprint	4 × 10 km   relay	Team   sprint
2014	27	7	—	—	—	Silver	—

World Championships

• 3 medals – (3 silver)

Year	Age	15 km  individual	30 km   skiathlon	50 km  mass start	Sprint	4 × 10 km   relay	Team   sprint
2013	26	—	—	23	—	—	—
2015	28	—	—	10	—	4	—
2017	30	4	17	—	—	Silver	—
2019	32	Silver	—	—	—	Silver	—

Season standings

Season	Age	Discipline standings			Ski Tour standings
		Overall	Distance	Sprint	Nordic Opening	Tour de Ski	World Cup Final	Ski Tour Canada
2009	22	178	112	—	N/A	—	—	N/A
2011	24	70	47	NC	—	25	—	N/A
2012	25	55	39	95	45	25	—	N/A
2013	26	30	17	NC	—	20	44	N/A
2014	27	49	37	79	10	—	36	N/A
2015	28	28	20	NC	61	18	N/A	N/A
2016	29	19	18	69	29	24	N/A	13
2017	30	15	11	62	28	13	14	N/A
2018	31	37	27	NC	22	—	21	N/A
2019	32	46	27	NC	—	33	—	N/A

Individual podiums

• 6 podiums – (5 WC, 1 SWC)

No.	Season	Date	Location	Race	Level	Place
1	2012–13	19 January 2013	La Clusaz, France	15 km Mass Start C	World Cup	2nd
2	2015–16	20 December 2015	Toblach, Italy	15 km Individual C	World Cup	2nd
3		13 February 2016	Falun, Sweden	10 km Individual C	World Cup	2nd
4	2016–17	11 March 2017	Oslo, Norway	50 km Mass Start C	World Cup	3rd
5		18 March 2017	Quebec City, Canada	15 km Mass Start C	Stage World Cup	3rd
6	2018–19	17 February 2019	Cogne, Italy	15 km Individual C	World Cup	3rd

Team podiums

• 2 victories – (2 RL)
• 3 podiums – (3 RL)

No.	Season	Date	Location	Race	Level	Place	Teammates
1	2013–14	8 December 2013	Lillehammer, Norway	4 × 7.5 km Relay C/F	World Cup	1st	Yaparov / Legkov / Vylegzhanin
2	2018–19	27 January 2019	Ulricehamn, Sweden	4 × 7.5 km Relay C/F	World Cup	1st	Belov / Spitsov / Maltsev
3	2019–20	1 March 2020	Lahti, Finland	4 × 7.5 m Relay C/F	World Cup	3rd	Semikov / Spitsov / Melnichenko

References

1. Alexander Bessmertnykh at the International Ski Federation
2. "Russian doping: IOC bans 11 Winter Olympic athletes". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
3. "Men's Relay 4x10 km". Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
4. "IOC bans 11 Russian winter athletes for life for Sochi 2014 doping". Reuters. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
5. "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) delivers its decisions in the matter of 39 Russian athletes v/the IOC: 28 appeals upheld, 11 partially upheld" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2018.

External links

• Alexander Bessmertnykh at the International Ski Federation
• Alexander Bessmertnykh at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)