It turned out that Aleksandr Bolshunov registered as being from Kazakhstan was Bolshunov from Russia and not approved to participate in FIS races, said Ski Classics manager Oscar Svärd to NRK.
Bolshunov's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to allow him to compete in the Olympics was rejected on Thursday. Instead, he tried to enter the cross-country race in Seiser Alm, which he ran last year. But this year, the race is part of the Ski Classics cross-country cup, which follows the rules of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).
FIS has allowed a number of Russians and Belarusians to compete, but Bolshunov is not one of them.
