Doping in XC skiing

[Tubeless]

Breaking News.

Today a chronicle was published in Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang written by prof. Bengt Saltin and Danish scientist and doping hunter Jakob Mørkeberg. It’s not published online but according to reports in the newspapers, the argumentation is very harsh against the Norwegians during the 90s.
http://www.vg.no/sport/ski/langrenn/artikkel.php?artid=10108035

Two Quotes: [my translation]
Cross-Country skiers are not shaped in a different way than cyclists.
The evidence is so strong that even the Norwegians have to realize what was going on.

Saltin was evidently the central person of the Freiburg Investigation, which exposed Riis and Ulrich and his arguments are obviously based on his experiences from that investigation, comparing it with what he has seen from cross-country skiing.

It would be appreciated if someone could make the chronicle available in this forum.

Just watched the Finnish documentary "Blue-white lie" about the doping in cross-country skiing during the 1990's. Tapio Wideman, colleague of Bengt Saltin as a member of the FIS medical commission from 1980-2002 says on the program that 1.0 g/l increase in Hb was measured by FIS to improve performance (an actual improvement in race time) by 2.5%. So increasing Hb from 15.8 to 19.8 g/l would get you a 10% gain - Smirnov at Thunder Bay in 1995. This is consistent with the numbers being discussed - and rather difficult to explain how to offset it by any legal means.

 

[Discgear]

Many thanks.
So what Saltin is essentially saying is that it’s impossible for an “average” male (with Hb values around 14-15,5) reaching “lasting” Hb values above 17 with the altitude training used by cross-country athletes. Seems like a very reasonable statement to me. However, his comments would be a lot less confusing if he didn’t lump everyone into the same group, and also commented on the people with higher than “average” Hb values.

Well, they (Saltin and Mørkeberg) make it clear that they speak about the average male and not the ones with dispensation. It seems that this passage is addressing the Norwegian Ski Federations claim that they could reach high values and keep them in championships, through High Altitude training. Saltin and Mørkeberg strongly rejects that as a valid explanation to the numbers that has been shown. But keep in mind that at least Saltin must also have seen all the FIS-samples collected in the 90s, 786 male and 300 female.

In my opinion we need more insight. More numbers, more detail, more context. When and if that comes along (unless confessions are made), I think this will be much easier to discuss with an open mind. Keep in mind that the Norwegian culture and perception is that we do not cheat, and that we hate dopers. It is a general mindset in our culture, and the fall from grace will be really high if the opposite is true. I can only speak for myself, but I recognise that same mindset in myself.

It’s hard to believe that Mørkeberg and Saltin don’t have an insight – considering their past and present positions – based on numbers, detail and context. They are pointing to the values collected by FIS during the 90s – 786 male and 300 female samples. But they refer to a scientific article whereas those numbers have been previously mentioned, and do not directly refer to FIS.

It seems that the secrecy in FIS is very rigid. Remember former FIS-executive Bengt-Erik Bengtsson in Uppdrag Granskning, how he was constantly pointing to his wows of silence.

I agree that general mindset in Norway and Sweden is hating dopers, but does that really differ from most countries? However it turns out that both in Sweden and Norway some bicyclists have been caught with EPO-doping.

But why is Saltin and Mørkeberg going so tough with specifically the Norwegians, more or less pointing to them?
They are making it clear that their motive in writing the article, is not pointing out single athletes but how it was organized - if leaders, doctors and trainers were involved.

The article is only available online through subscription service VGPluss.

Try this direct link: http://pluss.vg.no/a/1rxJRz9

Thank's for the link to the article,

 

[Trond Vidar]

It’s hard to believe that Mørkeberg and Saltin don’t have an insight – considering their past and present positions – based on numbers, detail and context. They are pointing to the values collected by FIS during the 90s – 786 male and 300 female samples. But they refer to a scientific article whereas those numbers have been previously mentioned, and do not directly refer to FIS.

It seems that the secrecy in FIS is very rigid. Remember former FIS-executive Bengt-Erik Bengtsson in Uppdrag Granskning, how he was constantly pointing to his wows of silence.

I agree that general mindset in Norway and Sweden is hating dopers, but does that really differ from most countries? However it turns out that both in Sweden and Norway some bicyclists have been caught with EPO-doping.

B

They have lots of insight, no doubt. I still don't think they get the message across (to Norwegians at least) with their rethoric at the moment.

Bengt-Erik Bengtsson in Uppdrag Granskning...he did not come out well. It was obvious that he knows so much more, and that they granted free passes for a lot of dubious activity. To me he almost seemed less intelligent judged by how Uppdrag Granskning portrayed him. Poor guy.

As for mindset. I know it might be irrational (and dopers can be found everywhere), but I believe that we are different in mindset to some other countries in regards to doping. Especially in the public/fan opinion.

As an example, the Norwegian Cycling Federation is trying to enforce a 10year ban on Steffen Kjærgaard from even training kids etc. In the US you see Hincapie now training with the national team.

 

[python]

Do you have a link that describes the new rule?

Fis anti-doping rules, edition 2012
http://www.fis-ski.com/data/document/fis-anti-doping-rules-2012-clean-version.pdf

Fis anti-doping rules, edition 2013
http://www.fis-ski.com/data/document/fis-anti-doping-rules-2013.pdf

in the edition 2013, see FIS B.4 on p.64 - Start Prohibition.

Compared to the 2012 version, Rule FIS B.3.3 with the specific values for hemoglobin and %rets was removed.

It is my understanding (again, it's my own speculation, thus not a fact by which fis will move) that the no-start decision from now on will be based on the interpretations of the following 3 models ONLY:

- z-score or
- off-score or
- positive Bayesian model.

the numeric values, though not specified in the 2013 edition, probably stayed the same and any of the 3 models may trigger a no-start.

i am not sure if this is a step forward with regard to catching dopers (see my post above with the uci/ashenden example).

 

[python]

@trond vidar

putting the political correctness aside for a moment, i do agree with you that the public sentiment in norway and sweden is strongly anti-doping. perhaps more so, than in many other countries. moreover, while i am not sure if this is a cast in concrete cultural value, i do believe that the anti-doping attitude permeates to all levels of sports, particularly in the junior and amateur levels...

but it does not mean that at the highest competitive level, in the professional sports, where various pressures combine and multiply, the noble societal principles automatically apply to individuals.

i am not doubting that you and the other members of this board from norway express the views you were brought up on, yet, it could be too idealistic as it puts a compatriot make up above the general failings of human nature.

and lastly, note how sweden, despite never failing a dope test in xc skiing (just like norway) and having a similar anti-doping attitude, is putting its own athletes in the hot seat by producing uppdrag granskning on swedish national television. i already criticized some aspects of the uppdrag granskning piece but it surely puts pressure on the swedish ski federation too.

 

[Discgear]

They have lots of insight, no doubt. I still don't think they get the message across (to Norwegians at least) with their rethoric at the moment.

Yes, but what arguments and rethorics would get through to the Norwegians concerning doping and their ski heroes in the 90s?

Bengt-Erik Bengtsson in Uppdrag Granskning...he did not come out well. It was obvious that he knows so much more, and that they granted free passes for a lot of dubious activity. To me he almost seemed less intelligent judged by how Uppdrag Granskning portrayed him. Poor guy.

Totally agree. If I were a journalist I would put a lot of pressure on Bengt-Erik Bengtsson now. It was obious that he had a lot to say, that he wanted to tell, but when keeping the position that he couldn't - because of whatever promises he made to FIS - ridiculed himself. The only way for him to gain some respect again, is to start talking.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Just watched the Finnish documentary "Blue-white lie" about the doping in cross-country skiing during the 1990's. Tapio Wideman, colleague of Bengt Saltin as a member of the FIS medical commission from 1980-2002 says on the program that 1.0 g/l increase in Hb was measured by FIS to improve performance (an actual improvement in race time) by 2.5%. So increasing Hb from 15.8 to 19.8 g/l would get you a 10% gain - Smirnov at Thunder Bay in 1995. This is consistent with the numbers being discussed - and rather difficult to explain how to offset it by any legal means.

Interesting.
It perfectly fits with the gains of blod manipulation we heard of in cycling.
5-10% that seem to be the magic numbers.

 

[Alesle]

Yes, but what arguments and rethorics would get through to the Norwegians concerning doping and their ski heroes in the 90s?

If we're talking strictly blood values; detailed blood values (either from individuals or team average) over a period of time with comments about why they are indicative of doping would probably go a long way. Particularly if the comments dismiss any possible equipment/test/altitude/dehydration excuses.

 

[Discgear]

If we're talking strictly blood values; detailed blood values (either from individuals or team average) over a period of time with comments about why they are indicative of doping would probably go a long way. Particularly if the comments dismiss any possible equipment/test/altitude/dehydration excuses.

I agree. But as I said earlier, we have to take for granted - concerning Saltins long time position in FIS, that at least he (I'm not sure about Morkegard) has seen all the blood values from the 90s.
And it certainly seems that they don't think that everything was okey with the Norwegians, it's pretty obious in the article.

In perspective of that, we can't really expect an open accounting from the Norwegians. And knowing that Ulvang runs FIS, I'm not really expect anything happening on that front either.

The only way that something could happen is if the media and the public put a lot of pressure on the Ski Federation and FIS. And I think that the very open and frank statements from two of the foremost experts in the world should have started such an opinion. But all there is after the chronicle is silence, which i find quite strange. Reading it carefully, the chronicle is much more heavy in the critique of the Norwegians than the two documentaries.

 

[Trond Vidar]

@trond vidar

putting the political correctness aside for a moment, i do agree with you that the public sentiment in norway and sweden is strongly anti-doping. perhaps more so, than in many other countries. moreover, while i am not sure if this is a cast in concrete cultural value, i do believe that the anti-doping attitude permeates to all levels of sports, particularly in the junior and amateur levels...

but it does not mean that at the highest competitive level, in the professional sports, where various pressures combine and multiply, the noble societal principles automatically apply to individuals.

i am not doubting that you and the other members of this board from norway express the views you were brought up on, yet, it could be too idealistic as it puts a compatriot make up above the general failings of human nature.

and lastly, note how sweden, despite never failing a dope test in xc skiing (just like norway) and having a similar anti-doping attitude, is putting its own athletes in the hot seat by producing uppdrag granskning on swedish national television. i already criticized some aspects of the uppdrag granskning piece but it surely puts pressure on the swedish ski federation too.

I fully agree with you. It is interesting times

 

[MrRoboto]

In perspective of that, we can't really expect an open accounting from the Norwegians. And knowing that Ulvang runs FIS, I'm not really expect anything happening on that front either.

Ulvang doesn't run FIS. Not sure where you got that idea.

 

[Discgear]

Ulvang doesn't run FIS. Not sure where you got that idea.

Yes, it was a careless formulation. He runs FIS Cross Country section, as being the chairman of the committe

 

[ToreBear]

i did not follow mørkeberg as closely as i followed saltin's and damsgaard's works. but his name can often be seen among the coauthors of almost a dozen studies on blood doping, including frequent partering with damsgaard and ashenden. armstrong tried to degenerate the young scientist when he was among the first who saw through the texan's tricky blood values...what matters is that mørkeberg was absolutely correct as was later confirmed by the usada evidence. i do not know enough about mørkeberg's activities outside the scientific research to comment.

however, i made another interesting observation regarding damsgaard's activities at fis as they relate to the 90's haemoglobin levels..

...as some already know, starting this year fis, unlike the uci, will no longer have fixed levels for haemoglobin that would automatically sideline an athlete for 5 days if exceeded. in stead, the new rule will rely on atypical individual blood profile similar to abnormal blood passport pickup by the software and only THEN passed over to an expert.

is this a good thing ? perhaps, but note, that there is no longer the upper haemoglobin limit - the very and only thing from the 90s so hotly discussed now.

also note in this regard the recent back-and-forth between ashenden and the uci. the meticulous scientist pointed out that the uci did not act on armstrong's suspicious blood values, to which the uci responded, 'it was the software which was not designed to detect this type of spikes'.

is fis's new rule (in which damsgaard took part no doubt), going to lead to overlooked blood doping, similar to armstrong's situation ? and why would they kick the old rule altogether ? was it because too many skiers have values in excess of 17 ?

Are you sure about the UCI still having HGB limits? I though they have removed it.

As for benefits of not using the limit and relying on the passport, I can think of:

- No need for clean athletes to worry about their hgb levels unless they feel sick.
- Perhaps no longer a need for athletes who have borderline 17 values to get dispensation, wich should save a lot of paper work.

These problems should be small for the big and rich federations, but for the smaller federations, this could simplify and reduce their costs a lot.

As for drawbacks of not using the hgb limits, I can't think of anything apart from the FIS being as corrupt/incompetent as the UCI. Then again I don't think they are.

Also, if you can make sure your passport does not get passed on in the system, fixing a simple health test before the competition should be a piece of cake.

 

[ToreBear]

Just watched the Finnish documentary "Blue-white lie" about the doping in cross-country skiing during the 1990's. Tapio Wideman, colleague of Bengt Saltin as a member of the FIS medical commission from 1980-2002 says on the program that 1.0 g/l increase in Hb was measured by FIS to improve performance (an actual improvement in race time) by 2.5%. So increasing Hb from 15.8 to 19.8 g/l would get you a 10% gain - Smirnov at Thunder Bay in 1995. This is consistent with the numbers being discussed - and rather difficult to explain how to offset it by any legal means.

Which version did you see? There are differences. The Norwegian version had errors which I think were removed from the Swedish version.

One was:
Sportsdoctor Helge Oftebro says that doping is common in Norwegian sports, also in Cross country skiing.
The part about cross country skiing was removed in the swedish version.( Helge Oftebro complained after seeing the Norwegian version that he never said that.)

Also there was a bit about Marie-Helen Østlund and Bengt Saltin, and Malmgren which was removed.

 

[ToreBear]

Yes, it was a careless formulation. He runs FIS Cross Country section, as being the chairman of the committe

Careless again, he is the Chairman of the XC EXECUTIVE BOARD (CC)

http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/insidefis/fiscommittees.html?committee_id=96&committee_nation=


The man who runs the Fis Cross Country section is Pierre Mignerey.

 

[Discgear]

Careless again, he is the Chairman of the XC EXECUTIVE BOARD (CC)

http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/insidefis/fiscommittees.html?committee_id=96&committee_nation=

The man who runs the Fis Cross Country section is Pierre Mignerey.

Well if you find pleasure in going into semantics, that's maybe easier to grasp than Saltin and Morkeberg's tough statements about Norwegian X-country skiing?
Well, Norwegian Wiki calls him chairman of the committee in Cross-Country. Members of the committee are the executive board and representatives of the sub-committees. The Chairman of the executive board is then also the chairman of the committee. Happy?

And yes, in the context of expecting that FIS will release data that will compromise Norwegian Cross Country Skiing during the 90s, I think it's fair to propose that nothing will happen as long as Ulvang is running the show, being the top of the Cream in FIS X-country section.

 

[Trond Vidar]

Numbers will be published tomorrow

http://mobil.aftenposten.no/msport/?art=272047&path=/sport/langrenn/#.UT95bYO9Kc0

 

[thegrimpeur]

Numbers will be published tomorrow

http://mobil.aftenposten.no/msport/?art=272047&path=/sport/langrenn/#.UT95bYO9Kc0

For the very few english-only guys: Numbers will be published at 9:30 CET, and they will be anonymous (I guess that will mean that the skiers will be called skier #1, #2 and so on).

 

[ToreBear]

Well if you find pleasure in going into semantics, that's maybe easier to grasp than Saltin and Morkeberg's tough statements about Norwegian X-country skiing?
Well, Norwegian Wiki calls him chairman of the committee in Cross-Country. Members of the committee are the executive board and representatives of the sub-committees. The Chairman of the executive board is then also the chairman of the committee. Happy?

And yes, in the context of expecting that FIS will release data that will compromise Norwegian Cross Country Skiing during the 90s, I think it's fair to propose that nothing will happen as long as Ulvang is running the show, being the top of the Cream in FIS X-country section.

I am very happy that you acknowladged your lack of accuracy. The reason I'm focusing on this is that you appear to view the FIS as some super shadowy organization controlled by the Norwegians. This is not surprizing, since Anders Blomquist at SVT seems to hold this view. Though it is still not correct.

So who do you think would be more likely to debate releasing these values. The Executive board, Medical Comitee or the FIS Ethics Commission? Perhaps all three?

Would the Fis Ethics commision approve of the excecutive board attempting to bloc publication if the medical comitee thought it would be a good idea to release information? Perhaps the Fis Ethics Commision can be pressured by the all powerfull Norwegian influence in the Fis.

Lets see who is on the Ethics Commision. Oh it's Hans Blix! I'm sure he would be easy to compromise by the Norwegian Skiing superpower.

He might have stood on his principles when confronted by a superpower in the run up to the Iraq War in 2003. But whats George Bush and a war hungry USA compared to the power of the Norwegian skiing lobby?!



As for Morgeberg and Saltin:

I agree. But as I said earlier, we have to take for granted - concerning Saltins long time position in FIS, that at least he (I'm not sure about Morkegard) has seen all the blood values from the 90s.
And it certainly seems that they don't think that everything was okey with the Norwegians, it's pretty obious in the article.

In perspective of that, we can't really expect an open accounting from the Norwegians. And knowing that Ulvang runs FIS, I'm not really expect anything happening on that front either.

The only way that something could happen is if the media and the public put a lot of pressure on the Ski Federation and FIS. And I think that the very open and frank statements from two of the foremost experts in the world should have started such an opinion. But all there is after the chronicle is silence, which i find quite strange. Reading it carefully, the chronicle is much more heavy in the critique of the Norwegians than the two documentaries.

I would not take Saltin having seen the blood values from the 90s for granted. Perhaps anonymous values yes. But from his statement that all medal winners in 1995 had hgb over 175, which turned out to be wrong, I would find his insight into the details questionable.

As for the cronicle. Usually when experts argue, they include citations. This one does not. I had hoped for a longer article by them, laying out their arguents and evidence in detail. But no such document exist. Hence it's difficult to argue with them.

Hence I look at what they are saying and look for sources. For example they used a reference to a WADA study of body position to refute some of the explained variability of blood testing present with the hemocure apparatus in the 90s.

A little googeling found this.
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/news/pressreleases/pressreleases2006/wada-study.html

The thing is it's from 2006, and FIS started using equipment like the sysmex in 2001. Hence their refference to a "study", seems rather farcical.

I can find more, but it's getting late.

I'm very sceptical about Saltin and Also Morkeberg.

 

[Tubeless]

I am very happy that you acknowladged your lack of accuracy. The reason I'm focusing on this is that you appear to view the FIS as some super shadowy organization controlled by the Norwegians. This is not surprizing, since Anders Blomquist at SVT seems to hold this view. Though it is still not correct.

So who do you think would be more likely to debate releasing these values. The Executive board, Medical Comitee or the FIS Ethics Commission? Perhaps all three?

Would the Fis Ethics commision approve of the excecutive board attempting to bloc publication if the medical comitee thought it would be a good idea to release information? Perhaps the Fis Ethics Commision can be pressured by the all powerfull Norwegian influence in the Fis.

Lets see who is on the Ethics Commision. Oh it's Hans Blix! I'm sure he would be easy to compromise by the Norwegian Skiing superpower.

He might have stood on his principles when confronted by a superpower in the run up to the Iraq War in 2003. But whats George Bush and a war hungry USA compared to the power of the Norwegian skiing lobby?!



As for Morgeberg and Saltin:



I would not take Saltin having seen the blood values from the 90s for granted. Perhaps anonymous values yes. But from his statement that all medal winners in 1995 had hgb over 175, which turned out to be wrong, I would find his insight into the details questionable.

As for the cronicle. Usually when experts argue, they include citations. This one does not. I had hoped for a longer article by them, laying out their arguents and evidence in detail. But no such document exist. Hence it's difficult to argue with them.

Hence I look at what they are saying and look for sources. For example they used a reference to a WADA study of body position to refute some of the explained variability of blood testing present with the hemocure apparatus in the 90s.

A little googeling found this.
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/news/pressreleases/pressreleases2006/wada-study.html

The thing is it's from 2006, and FIS started using equipment like the sysmex in 2001. Hence their refference to a "study", seems rather farcical.

I can find more, but it's getting late.

I'm very sceptical about Saltin and Also Morkeberg.

It's clear that all FIS officials, regardless of nationality, want to avoid another doping scandal. And if they released all of the blood test data from the 1990's, it would most likely be a scandal of epic proportions.

The Finnish documentary left no doubt that there was wide-spread doping in the Finnish and Italian teams. Little attempt was made to point the finger in any other direction. But the doctors, FIS officials and coaches who agreed to speak on record and others who spoke off the record, all agreed it was not possible to be competitive without medical assistance during the 1990's. The movie also made a strong case that the situation in fact started in the 1970's with old-fashioned blood doping - and back then you could use someone else's blood and not suffer the consequences of downtime following a blood draw.

The movie also hinted that FIS has been involved in covering up doping (from becoming a scandal) - with a preference to dealing with the issues "within the skiing family". This is very similar to what happened in cycling. We should not be surprised about this. It's a small community, everyone knows everyone else, and to a large extent, the fate of all athletes and coaches is tied to the well-being of the overall show. There's no "police", it's more like a parent or a guardian looking after the kids. Doping control should really be taken out of the hands of the sports federations, but few realize what a massive undertaking this would be - and who would finance it. The movie calls FIS doping control a PR initiative which is a fitting way to put it.

Much of what's driving today's revelations is the fact that some got caught, while others did - and everyone knows everyone was doping. So those who got caught want "justice" and are now willing to say what they know. Whether this amounts to actual proof and will change anything, only time will tell. But the pressure is on and it feels like it's not going away.

 

[python]

Are you sure about the UCI still having HGB limits? I though they have removed it.

yes, as sure as the uci medical commission they still list it as an abnormal trigger. if you have the source stating otherwise, i'd like to see it. the difference with fis is that the uci uses both the hct=50% and the hg=17 whereas fis has always (with good reason) referred to haemoglobin only. the uci may be considering to drop the cut-off due to their blood passport facility and data but they haven't done so yet.

As for benefits of not using the limit and relying on the passport, I can think of:

the cost and administration benefits should only matter if they promote anti-doping.

As for drawbacks of not using the hgb limits, I can't think of anything apart from the FIS being as corrupt/incompetent as the UCI.

on the corruption angle read below. as to the main drawback, as i pointed out in a post above, relying exclusively on the computer software to flag abnormalities (which seems the new fis way), leaves the door open for a sophisticated doper to beat the system. i gave an example from the ashenden/UCI exchange when the uci referred to the software inability to pick up armstrong-type spikes that the human eye of ashenden easily saw. the uci may have used it as a convenient ploy, but it may be a real drawback of the blood passport. ashenden in one study showed how blood passport software missed blood doping big time.

on corruption...

scandal avoidance is not necessarily a corruption. more like not washing its laundry in public. compared to the downright corrupt uci, the fis is like an exclusive gentlemen club.. if you have not heard how ‘creative’ the fis can become in order to avoid scandals, read up on bengt-erik bengtsson, the same guy who signed the leaked document from lahti…how he admitted to covering up virpi kuitunen’s high blood values. how many coverups and embarrassing details remain sealed from about the same time period (late 90s), given this event surfaced ? There is always a ‘kitchen’ and there are always the kitchen insiders and the outsiders. In 2013 (compared to the dirty 1990s) the fis kitchen is ultra modern, with more transparency and such but it still tries to keep the outsiders noses out, b/c the kitchen politics ALWAYS stink. and there is always, at least SOME politics.

 

[neineinei]

Live from the press conference of Norges skiforbund. Don't know if it is geo restricted:

http://www.vgtv.no/#!/video/62397/d...-langrennsløperne-på-90-tallet-blir-lagt-frem VG

http://www.nrk.no/sport/folg-skiforbundtes-pressetreff-her-1.10946528?kanal=sport-1 NRK

http://live.dagbladet.no/studio/sport Dagbladet

http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/vintersport/skidor/article16407071.ab aftonbladet.se

 

[Bavarianrider]

Wow this is really interesting.
Would be cool if you could inform us about the most important when it's over.

 

[Trond Vidar]

Google Translate from Nettavisen.no

- Saltin tried and partly succeeded in making cross-country skiing part cleaner in the 2000s than it probably was in the 1990s. But he is probably a little too eager with personal data and undocumented assertions that affects individuals, mean Rønsen.by Roy Kvatningen 10:17 AM

- We have had a few runners who have been high in the normal range, but that's it. There are some who are up in the 16th century and sometimes low 17's, unless it has something to do with manipulation, says Ola Rønsen.by Roy Kvatningen 10:16 AM

Average hemoglobin values ​​for Norwegian men's runners have been stable throughout the period 1989 to 2002, from 15.0 to 15.6. By Roy Kvatningen 10:08 AM

Rønsen Ski Federation explains that often provide access to its material number if anyone wants it, but now they are in the first instance, they brought up themselves in order to present this fastest mulig.by Roy Kvatningen 10:07 AM

It will be presented 408 measurements made on the men's side and 277 on Female side since 1989 to 2002.by Roy Kvatningen 10:03 AM

Ola Rønsen explains that hemoglobin level goes up in the human body during exercise, because you lose fluids while exercising and therefore the hemoglobin percentage høyere.by Roy Kvatningen 9:55 AM

Rønsen now provides a basic introduction to the theme of red blood cells and hemoblobin. It will probably be too advanced for me to reproduce this on the fly her.by Roy Kvatningen 9:51 AM

- We've done the best we could to get a number of materials that it is okay to deal with, says Roy Rønsen.by Kvatningen 9:49 AM

Ola Rønsen takes the floor now. He is the Olympic, but worked with cross country from 1994 to 1998 and in 2010 and 2011.by Roy Kvatningen 9:48 AM

- Norwegian Ski Federation has been active in anti-doping work. We will also be in the future, says Erik Røste videre.by Roy Kvatningen 9:47 AM

- Norwegian skiers have not had abnormal values, he adds. by Roy Kvatningen 9:47 AM

- This has proven to be a storm in a teacup, says Erik Røste.by Roy Kvatningen 9:46 AM

- The challenging of this is that Bengt Saltin, allegedly the source for that Bjorn Daehlie tested 17.5 in hemoglobin values, told a newspaper that he has never seen this data and another that he has seen it, says Erik Røste . Kvatningen by Roy 9:45 AM

- When it comes Bengt Saltin, I would like to say that it is with great amazement I sign his allegations Norwegian athletes. He has not submitted any documentation. He has not taken into account objective data from medical research, that there are individual differences, says Roy Røste.by Kvatningen 9:44 AM

- There is no reason, but there are serious allegations named Norwegian athletes. Therefore, we must take it seriously and spend time on this, says Roy Røste.by Kvatningen 9:43 AM

- There are no unnatural hemoglobin levels among Norwegian athletes and it was not in the 90s. There is also no unnatural changes in levels. So it is no just cause for suspicion that was made in Swedish TV and by Bengt Saltin.by Roy Kvatningen 9:42 AM

- This is no investigation. Nor is there anything that has come forward. This is part of the federation transparency culture. It showed already in 2001, when we presented the values ​​at the time, continue Røste.by Roy Kvatningen 9:41 AM

- There is nothing of what has emerged, either previously the Finnish or the Swedish documentary now showing abnormal values ​​of Norwegian performers, says Roy Røste.by Kvatningen 9:41 AM

-The reason why we are here, the Swedish documentary that was shown 27 February. When we asked what we had and if we could present our hemoglobin levels. I said we would come back to this. Therefore we are here today, said ship resident Erik Røste.by Roy Kvatningen 9:40 AM

Erik Røste sit down, so this probably start in a few sekunder.by Roy Kvatningen 9:39 AM

At the bottom of this issue, some of our previous articles on the subject of blood counts and allegations from the Swedish TV programmet.by Roy Kvatningen 9:38 AM

Press conference starts each øyeblikk.by Roy Kvatningen 9:31 AM

In Sweden, announced the team physician Magnus Dyborn blood values ​​to all the runners in the World Cup squad. The runners were anonymous, so you can not assign a single value to a single run, but it came at least until the blood levels varies from 119 in the lowest to 177 at the maximum.

- I am positive that he chooses to do it, and I support it. There are variations, it looks differently in the course of the year, and we tested very often. Therefore, one can see the nuances that come during the training year after you have finished a height stays and the like, said Charlotte Kalla to Expressen.by Roy Kvatningen 9:12 AM

- We have runners in Norway today have higher values ​​(than the runners in the 90's, ed.'s Note). That's my only comment, let Løfshus the time.

It will therefore be interesting to see what comes out on today pressekonferanse.by Roy Kvatningen 9:10 AM

Norwegian Ski Federation has thus been reversed in this case. During the World Championships in Val di Fiemme said coach Vidar Løfshus following to Nettavisen:

- We have no control on blood values ​​of the runners, but no list we are interested in publishing. It is not a matter for allmennheten.by Roy Kvatningen 9:10 AM

In Sweden, many have been critical of Norway will not publish blood values ​​on their runners for "uppdrag scrutiny 'documentary claiming that Norwegian athletes cheated on the 90-tallet.by Roy Kvatningen 9:09 AM

Press conference starts at 09:30. We will keep you updated here continuously.

 

[Trond Vidar]

"Runners" means Skiers btw (skiløpere=skirunners, sometimes only løpere is used)