Doping in XC skiing

[Põhja Konn]

To be fair, I think the overall quality of competition is at an outside low besides JTB. So his dominatio is partly due to his strength and partly due to the lack of competition.

The general skiing level over the field being on a low ebb during the first post-olympic year couId be a thing, though I think this works better as an explanation for general Norwegian domination on the mens side, but less so for the personal case of JTB.

 

[frenchfry]

Some might think of JT Boe and his stratospheric ski times, or Samuelsson who miralulously peaks for major competitions despite very ordinary results this year, but how about Rastorgujevs, convicted doper, who comes back after an 18 month suspension to finish 5th in the mass start despite 3 errors (not far behind Laegreid with only 2 errors) and 7th in the sprint.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Some might think of JT Boe and his stratospheric ski times, or Samuelsson who miralulously peaks for major competitions despite very ordinary results this year, but how about Rastorgujevs, convicted doper, who comes back after an 18 month suspension to finish 5th in the mass start despite 3 errors (not far behind Laegreid with only 2 errors) and 7th in the sprint.

The guy was banned for missing tests while racing very little, so probably the same old story...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Some might think of JT Boe and his stratospheric ski times, or Samuelsson who miralulously peaks for major competitions despite very ordinary results this year, but how about Rastorgujevs, convicted doper, who comes back after an 18 month suspension to finish 5th in the mass start despite 3 errors (not far behind Laegreid with only 2 errors) and 7th in the sprint.

Rastorgujevs' ban was for whereabouts violations rather than a doping ban, and he had already started getting slower before it. He's returned and to be honest is performing at the kind of level we are used to from him. He was garbage in the Individual and the Single Mixed so may have saved his legs a bit there, but he was very good in the relay yesterday (despite Latvia being a total irrelevance). He's got a bit of a history of strong head to head races with surprising speed, going back a decade now.

Seeing as he never tested positive when he got his ban, most likely he's just gone back to doing the same as he was doing, whatever that was, before he got banned.

The thing that's really jumped out to me this past couple of weeks has been Jérémy Finello's ski speed.

Edit: it's also worth noting that the Latvians have recently invested significantly in their venue at Madona to bring it up to international standard recently and I note they've been sending more athletes to the competitions lately, that may be a factor for Rastorgujevs' resurgence too.

 

[BullsFan22]

One of the many things I’ve learned from the Armstrong years is that you can be as vocal as you want about ‘clean sport,’ it doesn’t mean you’re actually clean. That is what I see with Samuelsson.

 

[Discgear]

One of the many things I’ve learned from the Armstrong years is that you can be as vocal as you want about ‘clean sport,’ it doesn’t mean you’re actually clean. That is what I see with Samuelsson.

So Samuelsson with 0 0 0 0, beating a fading JTB with three penalty loops is the shady figure?

 

[BullsFan22]

So Samuelsson with 0 0 0 0, beating a fading JTB with three penalty loops is the shady figure?

Nah, he’s shady cause he does very little during the regular season then comes alive like the phoenix. Obviously JTB is more than shady. Eminem should write a song about him.

 

[Discgear]

Nah, he’s shady cause he does very little during the regular season then comes alive like the phoenix. Obviously JTB is more than shady. Eminem should write a song about him.

Well, back in the dags the shady ones exploded during the championships, when you without risk could use big doses of EPO. Today I'm inclined to think that the shady ones, are the ones who never shows any weakness. Microdosing has changed the playing field.

 

[BullsFan22]

Well, back in the dags the shady ones exploded during the championships, when you without risk could use big doses of EPO. Today I'm inclined to think that the shady ones, are the ones who never shows any weakness. Microdosing has changed the playing field.

So Wonderboy is the perfect fit for your definition.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

So I tried to find out just how tall Kristine Stavås Skistad is, and my google fu turned up articles back to February 2019 talking about her and Fossesholm being given HGH in childhood. However, these look to be poorly google-translated articles so I'm not sure as to how much there is to them in terms of genuinely significant information; the article focuses more on Fossesholm who apparently was treated with HGH for the purposes of addressing abnormalities of height, in the same manner as Lionel Messi, as at 13 years of age she was just 137,5cm tall - and even today she's pretty small.

However, given Skistad is so tall and rangy and still as powerful as she is, she towers over the opposition, so she would not seem like a candidate for somebody where there is reasonable justification. Skistad's treatments do not include anything outside the WADA code apparently, but it does of course raise that additional question following the fuss about the Norwegian anti-doping federation's rules being non-compliant with WADA because of their rules about testing minors.

 

[Netserk]

So I tried to find out just how tall Kristine Stavås Skistad is, and my google fu turned up articles back to February 2019 talking about her and Fossesholm being given HGH in childhood. However, these look to be poorly google-translated articles so I'm not sure as to how much there is to them in terms of genuinely significant information; the article focuses more on Fossesholm who apparently was treated with HGH for the purposes of addressing abnormalities of height, in the same manner as Lionel Messi, as at 13 years of age she was just 137,5cm tall - and even today she's pretty small.

However, given Skistad is so tall and rangy and still as powerful as she is, she towers over the opposition, so she would not seem like a candidate for somebody where there is reasonable justification. Skistad's treatments do not include anything outside the WADA code apparently, but it does of course raise that additional question following the fuss about the Norwegian anti-doping federation's rules being non-compliant with WADA because of their rules about testing minors.

For the latter who didn't even need a TUE, isn't that one big nothingburger?

Pressemelding fra Norges Skiforbund

Langrennsløperne Helene Marie Fossesholm og Kristine Stavås Skistad (begge på Skiforbundets juniorlandslag) har uavhengig av hverandre, og med helt ulike utgangspunkt, fått spørsmål om bruk av medisiner i forbindelse med hormonbehandlinge …

www.skiforbundet.no

 

[Libertine Seguros]

For the latter who didn't even need a TUE, isn't that one big nothingburger?

Pressemelding fra Norges Skiforbund

Langrennsløperne Helene Marie Fossesholm og Kristine Stavås Skistad (begge på Skiforbundets juniorlandslag) har uavhengig av hverandre, og med helt ulike utgangspunkt, fått spørsmål om bruk av medisiner i forbindelse med hormonbehandlinge …

www.skiforbundet.no

I initially wanted to put it in the other thread relating to Mayo describing her as "built like a dreadnought", but thought the discussion would inevitably lead it down Clinic lines so put it in this one instead.

The question has to be more of a moral one than an athletic one imo.

 

[eriksp92]

I don't know the specifics of her treatment, but Skistad was treated to prevent her from getting any taller than she already was - which makes sense, since she's really tall for a woman as she is now.

 

[BullsFan22]

Fossesholm took steroids until age 17 (or so they say). Skistad did the same. The issue is also the one that any current and former (at least the last 30-32 years) Norwegian national team member is taking asthma meds even though they don’t even have asthma symptoms.

 

[Mayomaniac]

TBF, I think Skistad's situation is rather tame, since it was a treatment to stop her from growing any taller and the meds used don't even require a TUE and aren't on WADA's banned list. Sounds like something you do to make a young girls life easier and not something that would really be performance related. Ok, maybe growth plates closing, puberty ending and filling out your frame early could be an advantage in the junior ranks and before that, but nothing that's really a big deal long term.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

So I tried to find out just how tall Kristine Stavås Skistad is, and my google fu turned up articles back to February 2019 talking about her and Fossesholm being given HGH in childhood. However, these look to be poorly google-translated articles so I'm not sure as to how much there is to them in terms of genuinely significant information; the article focuses more on Fossesholm who apparently was treated with HGH for the purposes of addressing abnormalities of height, in the same manner as Lionel Messi, as at 13 years of age she was just 137,5cm tall - and even today she's pretty small.

However, given Skistad is so tall and rangy and still as powerful as she is, she towers over the opposition, so she would not seem like a candidate for somebody where there is reasonable justification. Skistad's treatments do not include anything outside the WADA code apparently, but it does of course raise that additional question following the fuss about the Norwegian anti-doping federation's rules being non-compliant with WADA because of their rules about testing minors.

What is Skistad's height? I've been googling athlete profiles like crazy and can't find it.

 

[Discgear]

I don't know the specifics of her treatment, but Skistad was treated to prevent her from getting any taller than she already was - which makes sense, since she's really tall for a woman as she is now.

Source on that? The explanation I've seen is that she was treated with hormons to initiate puberty. Drugs mentioned was Ethinylestradiol and Primolut.

 

[eriksp92]

It's inferred from the press release that was released back in time, which stated they were both treated for growth related abnormalities, but for different reasons - Fossesholm obviously growing too little as was described in more detail, and Skistad growing too much (again, this is inferred from the press release stating that their treatments were for opposite problems). Inducing puberty in girls stunts growth.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Maybe a bit off topic, but you know who I saw in a bar in my hometown this morning?
Freaking Walter Mayer...

 

[BullsFan22]

Maybe a bit off topic, but you know who I saw in a bar in my hometown this morning?
Freaking Walter Mayer...

You should have asked him if he was planning a comeback

 

[Mayomaniac]

You should have asked him if he was planning a comeback

I mean, in the end he was one of the very few Central Europeans who won Vasaloppet...

 

[Rob5091]

Interesting that XC skiing has a worse reputation then pro-cycling!

https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...moglobin-with-extraordinary-oxygen-absorption
According to studies carried out by Franck Zal, the worm has developed a special hemoglobin which can absorb a quantity of oxygen 40 times greater than that of humans. But above all, it is not so easily traceable.
According to some experts, it has already been used since 2019 and only recently has a method been found to identify it. Among the first sports to be suspected are skiing, so much so that it was already used at the World Championships in Sweden three years ago (2019 Åre I suppose the reference is to) , but there is suspicion that it was also used in cycling.
Researcher Marc Kluscinszyski explained almost two years ago: "We need to update the biological passport, because it deals with what happens in a red blood cell. These hemoglobins, however, provide hemoglobin, but outside the globular compartment, so blood control is completely bypassed."

Also the anti-dopers have to be quick to test or have some inside information ...
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/marine-worm-haemoglobin-could-be-the-new-frontier-of-blood-doping/
The Cycling Anti-doping Foundation carried out the reanalysis of 800 in-and out-of-competition blood and urine samples after Operation Aderlass but the CADF said none discovered a haemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC). HBOC are banned under the WADA anti-doping code but the lugworm haemoglobin is difficult to detect due to its very short half-life.

Any anti-doping blood tests would have to be taken immediately after races with a threshold for the banned substance also a possible problem. Blood samples are often taken from race winners and race leaders after races but usually only an hour or so after the finish and podium obligations.

Anti-doping rules now allow for testing during the night when justified and some teams underwent surprise anti-doping blood tests just an hour before the start of some races in 2023.

“Sea worm haemoglobin works very quickly in the body after injection but it also has a very short lifespan,” Adeline Molina of the L’Agence française de lutte contre le dopage (AFLD) told l’Equipe. “This is a product to look for in competition. But it is visible in a blood test.”

 

[Finn84]

Åre held alpine skiing WCs in 2019. Nordic skiing had their event in Seefeld, Austria.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Åre held alpine skiing WCs in 2019. Nordic skiing had their event in Seefeld, Austria.

Biathlon Worlds were in Östersund in 2019 too.

 

[BullsFan22]

Nothing to see here folks, just your average 35 year old with lovely technique almost winning a World Cup.