Russian skier Savely Korostelev will compete at the Olympics on February 10.

Russian skier Savely Korostelev, who will make his neutral debut at the 2026 Olympic Games, has already declared himself a serious contender. At his first Olympic race, he stopped one step away from victory, finishing fourth. Now the attention of the sports world is focused on his next start, the classic style sprint on February 10.

The men's classic style sprint starts at 11:55 Moscow time. Experts believe that getting into the top 10 will already be a great achievement for an athlete. But Savely himself proved that he is capable of more. Meanwhile, according to bookmakers, the star of world skiing Johannes Klebo is leading the list of favorites.

The 22-year-old athlete from Perm has been involved in cross-country skiing since childhood. He was born into a unique sports family. His mother is Natalia Korosteleva, a bronze medalist at the 2010 Olympics, his father is Pavel Korostelev, a former biathlete, and his uncle is Nikolai Morilov, an Olympic medalist. Savely's first coaches were his grandparents, ski coaches Alevtina and Sergey Morilov.

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Biography of an athlete with a neutral status at the 2026 Olympics

Later, Alexander Kravchenko took over the preparation of the future champion. Already in 2019, Savely Korostelev became the silver medalist of the Russian sprint championship. In 2022, he moved to the adult level, but this period coincided with the suspension of Russian athletes from international competitions amid sanctions. Despite this, Savely dominated the domestic scene, becoming a multiple champion of Russia and the winner of the Cup of the country.

In 2025, the skier got the opportunity to compete at the World Cup in a neutral status. Already in his first race, he took 52nd place, which allowed him to qualify for the 2026 Olympics.

The Russian made his Olympic debut in Italy on February 8 in the men's 20 km skiathlon (10 km classic and 10 km free). Korostelev came in fourth. He was only 1.5 seconds away from bronze. The athlete himself noted that the main task for him was to stay on a difficult track and avoid falling, which, according to him, he successfully coped with.

In addition to the sprint, two more races are planned in the Olympic program of Savely Korostelev: the 10 km freestyle on February 13 and the 50 km classic mass start on February 21.

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