Former Finnish Coach Accuses Finnish Ski Association of Orchestrating Doping

Published: Thu Jun 19, 2008 2:00 AM MDT
Updated: Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:33 AM MDT

The International Edition of the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reports that Kari-Pekka Kyrö, the former head coach of the Finnish cross-country skiing team, claims that in terms of Olympic sports, the FSA has been the largest distributor of doping substances in Finland. Last month, FasterSkier reported that Kyrö was talking to the Office of The Prosecutor General.

Writes Helsingin Sanomat -

The murky recent past of Finnish cross-country skiing is doggedly refusing to go away. Kari-Pekka Kyrö, the former head coach of the Finnish cross-country skiing team, claims that in terms of Olympic sports, the FSA has been the largest distributor of doping substances in Finland. He charges that doping was widespread in Finnish skiing in the 1990s.
Moreover, Kyrö also asserts that Olympic champion Marjo Matikainen, now a National Coalition Party MP, would have stooped to using banned substances in order to achieve success and reputation.
Kyrö claims further that Pekka Vähäsöyrinki, the then head of cross-country skiing at the FSA, also manoeuvred him into the doping scene, by asking him to keep some performance enhancing drugs, namely growth hormone and Russian erythropoietin, at his home in 1998.
State Prosecutor Pekka Koponen reports that the interviews with Kyrö in May were the basis for re-investigating the association's role in doping in the 1990s.

Read the full article:
Former cross-country skiing coach accuses Finnish Ski Association of orchestrating doping

In related doping news, Finnish Biathlete Kaisa Varis, who was caught doping and banned for two years from Cross-Country skiing after the 2003 World Championships in Lahti, was given a lifetime ban by the International Biathlon Union after testing positive at a race this winter. FasterSkier reported on the positive test, but did not cover the subsequent ruling. What is notable is that Varis was banned for life for a second offense, even though her first offense technically came in a different sport

Read the Helsingin Sanomat article from February on Varis' suspension.
Kaisa Varis given lifetime ban by International Biathlon Union

Source: Helsingin Sanomat

Vesa Suomalainen - Redmond, WA, posted on Jun 19, 2008

A bit of background may be helpful to put this news in perspective.

Kari-Pekka Kyro was the Finnish ski team head coach during the Lahti 2001 doping scandal and was levied a fine by the Finnish justice system for illegal importation of doping substances. A couple of other coaches were also investigated, but there wasn't enough evidence for a conviction. Mr Kyro did not aid his own case as he forgot a bag containing doping items (plasma expander Hemohes) at a Finnish gas station during the Lahti games which was picked up by the police.

Mr Kyro was banned for life from acting in any official capacity in the sport of cross-country skiing. That did not stop him from acting as a friend and/or personal coach for Kaisa Varis who got caught twice for EPO - first in the 2003 Val Di Femme world champs for cross-country skiing and, after serving a 2-year ban, this winter at a world cup event in biathlon.

The reason the Finnish justice system is interested in investigating Mr Kyro's allegations about Finnish ski team doping in the 1990's is a related court case from 1998 where two Finnish news agency (STT) editors were levied fines for incorrect reporting after they published a news story alleging doping related activities in the Finnish ski team. The prosecutor general's office wants to investigate whether justice was not served in that case - that is the specific angle of their involvement.

Many news stories have speculated why Mr Kyro is bringing out these allegations and why now. One story suggests that he may be bitter about having been the only one that had to pay the price for what he alleges was a team effort from the coaching staff (6 athletes were caught for doping in 2001 but Kyro was the only staff member that was penalized).

There have been no suggestions by Mr Kyro or others that doping in the Finnish ski team has continued since the Lahti scandal - other than the case of Ms Varis which appears to be connected back to Mr Kyro.

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