The 2022 Olympic champion is ready for the season opener in Finland, her first since 2021. She is one of several Russian skiers entered for the race weekend, which will be broadcast on SC Play.

At the end of October, news came that Natalia Terenteva, the first of the really big Russian stars, had been granted neutral status. It is now confirmed that the 31-year-old is ready for the season opener in Olos/Muonio this coming weekend. 

At the 2022 Olympics, Terenteva won gold in the relay, as well as silver and bronze in individual races. That same year, she also won both the Tour de Ski and the overall World Cup. She did this even though she could not take part in the final rounds after Russia went to war against Ukraine. 

Since then, Terenteva, whose name was Nepryaeva before she married ski star Alexander Terentev, has become a mother twice – most recently less than a year ago. 

Also Read – Olympic Champion granted green light: Russian stars set to return

One of several Russian skiers

Terenteva is now one of several Russians who will start at the international season opener in Olos/Muonio. Her younger sister Dariya Nepryaeva, Saveliy Korostelev and Sergey Volkov are also registered. 

Registration for the race weekend in northern Finland is still open. So far, a number of international stars have been confirmed, including the entire German and Italian World Cup teams, Iivo Niskanen and all the biggest Finnish names. More than 20 skiers are coming from Norway, among them Erik Valnes and the ageless Finn-Hågen Krogh. 

The program includes a classic sprint on Friday, a 10-kilometer classic race on Saturday and a 10-kilometer freestyle race on Sunday. 

All races from Muonio will be broadcast both live and on demand on the streaming channel SC Play, which has exclusive broadcasting rights in all countries except Finland. Members of ProXCskiing.com have full access to all content on SC Play.   

Read More: Finnish Ski Premiere Olos/Muonio Live on SC Play

Another Olympic star gets the green light

On Monday evening, it became clear that FIS has granted neutral status to the first male Russian superstar. 

Denis Spitsov won gold in the Olympic relay in 2022, where he also took silver in the skiathlon. The 30-year-old already had three silver medals from the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. 

Other new skiers who have now been approved are Evgeniya Krupitskaya, who finished second in the Russian Cup last winter, Alexander Bakurov, Egor Gusak, Elizaveta Eremeeva and Nataliya Kramarenko. 

For now, Alexander Bolshunov is not on the list of approved athletes.

Read More: Olympic champion Spitsov cleared to return as FIS approves new wave of Russian skiers

Bolshunov’s status still unclear 

Last week, NRK reported that Bolshunov has reportedly been rejected. At the same time, sources within FIS say concerns are growing. The problem is that FIS is now unsure whether the new rules provide a basis for continuing to exclude the 29-year-old Russian ski star.  

FIS expects an appeal from Russia and now fears that Bolshunov will win his case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The Russians have neither confirmed nor denied the status of Bolshunov’s application.

Also Read – Concerns grow at FIS: “Everyone knew it was about him”

Wave of Russians get the green light

Dennis Spitsov is one of more than 100 Russians whose applications for neutral status have been approved this season. Last year, the number was two. This comes after FIS adopted new rules earlier this fall that have allowed far more athletes to get through. 

Russian Ski Federation president Dmitri Svishchev expects there will be more. 

“I believe that many of our very biggest stars will get approval from FIS very soon,” Svishchev said earlier this fall.

See the full list of approved athletes HERE

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All the star-studded races from Muonio will be broadcast both live and on demand on the streaming channel SC Play, which has exclusive broadcasting rights in all countries except Finland (where the rights are not exclusive). Members of ProXCskiing.com have full access to all content on SC Play.   

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