The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.
Johann Mühlegg is a former top level cross-country skier who competed in international competitions first representing Germany and then Spain, after becoming a Spanish citizen in 1999. He was excluded and disqualified from the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City for doping.
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, from February 8 to February 24, 2002. A total of 2,399 athletes from 77 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these Games, competing in 78 events in 15 sports and disciplines.
Rebecca "Beckie" Scott, is a Canadian retired cross-country skier. She is Chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Athlete Committee, and served as an International Olympic Committee member by virtue of being elected to the IOC Athlete's Commission along with Saku Koivu between 2006 and 2014. She is married to the American former cross-country skier Justin Wadsworth.
Larisa Yevgenyevna Lazutina is a Russian former professional cross-country skier.
Olga Valeryevna Danilova is a Russian cross-country skier who competed from 1991 until she was banned for using performance-enhancing drugs in 2002.
Walter Mayer is an Austrian Cross-country skier and coach. He won the Vasaloppet in 1980, and finished second in 1992. As a coach, he was banned from the 2006 and 2010 Olympics after blood transfusion equipment was found in a house used by Austrian skiers during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mayer was accused of blood doping violations and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the ban after a three-month investigation.
This article is about the history of competitors at the Olympic Games using banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs.
Yulia Anatolyevna Chepalova is a former Russian cross-country skier.
Christian Hoffmann is an Austrian former cross-country skier who began competing in 1994. He won the bronze medal in the 50 km at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. Four years later at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Hoffmann finished second in the 30 km freestyle mass start event to Spain's Johann Mühlegg, but was awarded the gold medal in 2004 upon Mühlegg's blood-doping disqualification of darbepoetin.
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2001 took place February 15–25, 2001 in Lahti, Finland for a record sixth time, previous events being held in 1926, 1938, 1958, 1978 and 1989. These championships also saw the most event changes since the 1950s with the 5 km women and 10 km men's events being discontinued, the 10 km women and 15 km men's events return to their normal status for the first time since the 1991 championships, the debut of a combined pursuit as a separate category, the addition of the individual sprint race for both genders, and the debut of the ski jumping team normal hill event. Extremely cold weather cancelled the women's 30 km event. The biggest controversy occurred when a doping scandal hit the host nation of Finland, resulting in six disqualifications. This would serve as a prelude to further doping cases in cross country skiing at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City the following year.
Kaisa Varis is a Finnish retired cross-country skier and biathlete. Her career has been marred by doping convictions: as a cross-country skier, she was involved but not suspended in a doping scandal and in 2003 she was suspended two years for doping use. After her suspension, she returned as a biathlete in 2007, but in 2008 she received a lifetime ban from all International Biathlon Union (IBU) competitions after another positive doping test. However, her lifetime ban was overturned in March 2009 because the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the IBU failed to adhere to correct testing procedures; she remains eligible to compete in biathlon.
Alexander Gennadiyevich Legkov is a retired Russian cross-country skier who competed internationally between 2002 and 2017. He has five individual World Cup victories including one Tour de Ski title, as well as gold and silver medals at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The women's 10 kilometre classical cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States, was held on 12 February at Soldier Hollow.
The women's 4 × 5 kilometre relay cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States, was held on 19 February at Soldier Hollow.
The Women's 15 kilometre freestyle mass start cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States, was held on 9 February at Soldier Hollow.
The Women's 30 kilometre classical interval start cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States, was held on 24 February at Soldier Hollow. This was the final women's event of the 2002 Olympics cross-country program.
The 2 × 5 kilometre pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States, was held on 24 February at Soldier Hollow.
