Doping Scandal Updates From Nettavisen
By Erik Stange

February 27, 2002

A few bits and pieces from the unfolding doping story (from the Nettavisen website):

160,000 people responded to an on-line questionnaire on Sweden's aftonbladet.se news site, demanding that Muehlegg be forced to return all his gold medals. Swedish National Team coach Magnar Dalen was quoted as saying that "[Muehlegg] would never taken gold in the 50 km if he hadn't used NESP over a longer period of time."

FIS member Carl-Eric StŒlberg will push the International Ski Federation to adopt tougher penalties for those caught doping when the organization meets in Slovenia in June. He is proposing a lifetime ban for athletes caught doping.

The Russian government is criticizing its Olympic leaders for their performance in the Salt Lake Olympics. "It wasn't our athletes who lost in the Olympics, but rather the team leaders in their reaction to questionable judging, and unsuccessful attempts to clarify questions surrounding doping allegations and the team's preparations for the Olympics," said the government's Alexi Volin. He further added, "To prove that we are one of the world's leading sports nations Russia needs not only strong and well-trained athletes but more authoritative, active and professional administrators and leaders."

Sarah Lewis, FIS general secretary, said there will be both NESP (darbepoietin alpha) and EPO tests performed on a larger number of athletes at this weekend's World Cup race in Lahti, Finland. The NESP test was performed on only 10 to 15 athletes during the Olympics, and the word from the IOC is that this was because of the limited capacity of the laboratories used there. Over 30 hours were used order to analyze Muehlegg's tests alone.

Former IOC member and Olympic champion Johann Olav Koss believes the IOC should change its rule structure such that any athlete caught doping would be stripped of all medals won over the course of his or her professional career. He also wishes that the IOC would pressure the individual national sport federations to return the other medals won by Muehlegg, Lazutina and Danilova. He further added that the IOC should use its tremendous resources to investigate the circumstances surrounding the current doping cases and discover who else was involved in the use of NESP here at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

Inngard Lereim, a Norwegian doping expert, met with the IOC's medical committee here in Salt Lake before returning to Norway. He told reporters, "What is now left is to increase the number of athletes who are tested for NESP. In Salt Lake City only 10 to 15 were tested due to the limited capacity of the laboratories used here. Next time there will be more." He hopes that the scandal here at the games will be a breakthrough for the EPO test protocol developed by American Jim Stray Gundersen. Gundersen's "SAFE" tests has been used at select World Cup competitions, including the 2001 Soldier Hollow and the 2001 World Championships in Lahti, Finland. Arne Ljungqvist, leader of the IOC's medical committee, is now interested in the test and has asked to see the results gathered at these events.

The FIS has announced that it will not be a part of any legal actions taken against Muehlegg, Lazutina and Danilova to strip them of their medals. In Norway, this legal campaign is currently being spearheaded by the head of elite sport, Bj¿rge Stensb¿l.

Muehlegg's guestbook on his own web site (www.johann-muehlegg.com) was flooded with harassing emails. One guest wrote nearly ten lines with "EPO EPO EPO EPO EPO..." The guestbook was taken off-line on February 27. The main site itself has been updated and makes no mention of the doping scandal. It proclaims Muehlegg to be the "King of Soldier Hollow" and the "Winner of Two Olympic Gold Medals in 2002." Despite the strong protests, Muehlegg does not believe that he has lost the Spanish people's confidence. In an interview with eh Spanish paper El Pais, he also continues to proclaim his innocence. "All I have done is to eat right and take vitamins and minerals to replace the energy I lose during training. It is normal, and there isn't anything more to say than that," said Muehlegg.

Swix has stated that they will refuse to pay Muehlegg his bonuses for the two gold medals he still has, based on a doping clause in Swix's contract with Muehlegg. "We believe that this clause makes the contract void if one is caught for doping. We therefore do not need to pay any bonus," said Swix's marketing director Inge Kjetil Grini. Grini also revealed that the bonuses for these gold medals totaled less than $5000. Swix is also the pole sponsor for both Danilova and Lazutina, and will not be paying their bonuses either.