Citing an anonymous source, Postimees, Estonia’s largest newspaper is reporting that Andrus Veerpalu, the recently-retired Olympic and world champion medalist, has tested positive for doping.
In an article posted earlier this week, Postimees said that an A-sample taken from Veerpalu in January had failed an anti-doping control, but that the opening of his B-sample, which is used for confirmation, has not yet occurred.
The details of the report are sketchy, though. No sources are named, no documents are referenced, and officials with the Estonian Ski Federation, Estonian Anti-Doping Agency, and International Ski Federation have denied any knowledge of the positive test.
“We all have sources, but nobody has seen paper about [a] positive doping control,” Jaan Martinson, a veteran Estonian ski journalist, wrote in an e-mail to FasterSkier on Sunday.
Rumors about doping have long dogged Veerpalu, who has a knack for popping big results at big races. But none have ever been confirmed.
He retired suddenly earlier this year, just before the 2011 World Ski Championships in Oslo, where he was expected to end his career, citing illness and a knee injury. That, Martinson said, was where the rumors about a doping probe got started.
Outside of Norway, Estonia has one of the most vibrant ski cultures in the world—one that frequently has front-page newspaper coverage of its star athletes, and a handful of dedicated beat reporters.
Along with fellow Estonian Olympic medalists Jaak Mae and Kristina Smigun-Vaehi, Veerpalu is a national hero in his country. But with Smigun’s retirement after the 2010 season, Veerpalu’s retirement this year, and Mae also expected to hang them up this month, Estonian skiing already appeared headed towards some tough times—before the news about the failed doping test.
The national team coach, Mati Alaver, has discussed leaving to coach the Russians, and key support staff may be leaving with him. And if Postimees’s article proves accurate, it will be another, huge blow to the Estonian Ski Federation.
“It’s [a] very sensitive story,” Martinson said.
Nathaniel Herz
Nat Herz is an Alaska-based journalist who moonlights for FasterSkier as an occasional reporter and podcast host. He was FasterSkier's full-time reporter in 2010 and 2011.
One comment
maxcobb
April 7, 2011 at 3:09 pm
The AP is now running the story – quoting the Estonian Ski Assoc. See below. This is bad news for our beloved sport but perhaps it will renew the fight against doping.
Olympic ski champion from Estonia tests positive
(AP) – 3 hours ago
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Estonian Ski Association says former two-time Olympic champion Andrus Veerpalu tested positive for human growth hormone before the Nordic world championships in February.
Association spokesman Juri Jarv says both samples came back positive from a World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory. Veerpalu denied the allegations Thursday.
The 40-year-old Veerpalu was tested in Estonia in late January while preparing for the championships in Norway.
Veerpalu retired at the end of February. He is a two-time world champion and won gold medals in the classical 15-kilometer races at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.