The Doping Bombs that Shook the Ski World Championships – A Double Finnish Tragedy

The article examines some of the darkest chapters in the history of the Cross-Country Skiing World Championships. It opens by recalling the 1997 Trondheim scandal, when Russian superstar Ljubov Jegorova, fresh off a gold medal in the five‐kilometer classical race, tested positive for bromantan – a substance that was already known after a positive test during the Atlanta Olympics. Jegorova, one of the sport’s icons with an impressive haul of six gold medals from the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics, was subsequently disqualified from the Trondheim World Championships and handed a two-year doping ban, tarnishing her legacy.

The narrative then shifts to a major doping scandal on home soil in Finland. Four years later, at the World Championships in Lahti, six Finnish athletes were caught using the banned substance hemohes – a drug that can mask blood doping – including well-known figures like Mika Myllylä, Harri Kirvesniemi, Jari Isometsä and Virpi Kuitunen, with the national team manager Kari-Pekka Kyrö also implicated. The fallout from this scandal was immense, leading to the stripping of three medals (including a relay gold) and significant financial losses in sponsorship.

Next, the article details another infamous case when Finnish star Kaisa Varis, during the 2003 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, was found to have an abnormally high hemoglobin level. Although she initially competed in the relay, subsequent tests revealed traces of EPO, resulting in a two-year suspension.

Finally, the piece recounts shock images from the 2019 Seefeld World Championships where nine individuals were apprehended on doping charges. Among these were Austrian athletes Dominik Baldauf and Max Hauke, Kazakhstani Alekséj Poltoranin, as well as Estonian Karel Tammjärv and Estonian-born Andreas Veerpalu. TV footage captured Hauke being surprised by police during a blood transfusion, and the investigation eventually implicated 21 athletes from eight nations across five sports – three of which were winter disciplines.

Throughout, the article highlights the profound impact these doping scandals have had on the reputation and integrity of cross-country skiing as an international sport.