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CAS’s Legkov Reasoning: Finds Rodchenkov’s Testimony Hearsay, Marks on Bottle Not Relevant
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CAS’s Legkov Reasoning: Finds Rodchenkov’s Testimony Hearsay, Marks on Bottle Not Relevant

Chelsea LittleApril 23, 2018

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has posted the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned that ban for Legkov and seven other cross-country skiers. At the time, they did not release many details about how they had come to their decisions. Adding to the confusion was the fact that CAS had upheld the disqualifications for some other athletes, including three biathletes. On Monday, CAS released the details behind its decision in Legkov’s case. In...

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What’s Happening as Russia’s Sochi Scandal Winds Down: An Editorial
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What’s Happening as Russia’s Sochi Scandal Winds Down: An Editorial

Chelsea LittleFebruary 9, 2018

FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Concept2, cleared 28 Russian athletes of doping charges. Many people seemed shocked by this development. The athletes had been disqualified from the 2014 Games by an International Olympic Committee (IOC) Commission. This was after more than 18 months of buildup in which the world learnt of systematic manipulation of the anti-doping process by the Russian state security apparatus at those Olympics. I was both shocked, and not shocked. When all...

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Russian Olympians Announced: 12 Skiers, Four Biathletes to PyeongChang

Chelsea LittleJanuary 26, 2018

Earlier this week it was announced that cross-country skier Sergey Ustiugov and biathlete Anton Shipulin were among the Russian athletes excluded from the 2018 Olympic Games coming up in PyeongChang, South Korea, next month. The question arose: just who would be representing Russia? The list of the 169 athletes on the “Olympic Athletes of Russia” team (which is not supposed to be confused with the Russian Olympic Team, which has been banned) has now been...

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Rodchenkov Testimony in Zaitseva Case Includes Entire Biathlon Team: Doping Before and After Sochi
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Rodchenkov Testimony in Zaitseva Case Includes Entire Biathlon Team: Doping Before and After Sochi

Chelsea LittleDecember 23, 2017

On Friday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) posted the reasoned decision from its Disciplinary Commission, in which Russian biathlete Olga Zaitseva was disqualified from the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Zaitseva’s disqualification had been announced previously, but this is the first full-length decision presenting the evidence for the disqualification of any biathlete. Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova have also been suspended, but the Oswald Commission’s full decisions for their cases have not yet been released....

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Many Battles Still To Be Fought in Russia Doping Saga
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Many Battles Still To Be Fought in Russia Doping Saga

Chelsea LittleDecember 6, 2017

Yesterday, 2014 FIS Anti-Doping Rules, which went into effect on January 1, 2014 (before the Olympics started that February), state that the federation can take action against national ski teams, such as barring athletes from competition or assessing fines, if there is evidence of extensive doping within the team. Article 12.3.1 of the rules state that such action may be taken when “Four or more violations of these Anti-Doping Rules… are committed by Athletes or...

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Russian Athletes Must Compete as Neutral at the 2018 Olympics (Updated x2)
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Russian Athletes Must Compete as Neutral at the 2018 Olympics (Updated x2)

Chelsea LittleDecember 5, 2017

In Lausanne, Switzerland, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board voted to allow Russian athletes at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, but only to compete as neutral athletes. That means no national anthem, no Russia-emblazoned uniforms, and no Russian flags to be raised should the athletes win medals. Instead, the Olympic anthem would be played. The decision, available in full here, follows years of investigation into a state-organized doping program at the 2014...

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Oberhofer: Belated Sochi Bronze has Bitter Aftertaste, But ‘Better Late Than Never’
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Oberhofer: Belated Sochi Bronze has Bitter Aftertaste, But ‘Better Late Than Never’

Harald ZimmerDecember 4, 2017

With news of were not redacted in one of the documents. “11 months ago there were already these rumors, and several members of the media contacted me about that,” Oberhofer wrote. “[Recently] I was contacted by Giovanni Malagó, President of the Italian National Olympic Committee, who informed me that Vilukhina had been banned and removed from the list of results.” Oberhofer isn’t sure whether there will be some medal ceremony arranged for the one she...

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Czech Women Receive News of Olympic Medal, Then Online Abuse and Threats
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Czech Women Receive News of Olympic Medal, Then Online Abuse and Threats

Chelsea LittleNovember 29, 2017

(Editor’s note: This article contains explicit language.) On Monday, the International Olympic Committee posted decisions were puzzlingly not redacted from an evidence document in the McLaren report, reacted. Gabriela Koukalová posted on her Facebook page about how frustrated she was with the scandal. A translated version reads, “I know that you all know… I mean about our Olympic medal from Sochi for the women’s relay, which we are going to receive with almost four years of delay....

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Nine Fascinating Bits from the Legkov CAS Decision (Updated)
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Nine Fascinating Bits from the Legkov CAS Decision (Updated)

Chelsea LittleOctober 12, 2017

Nearly two weeks ago now, the lawyer for Russian cross-country skier Alexander Legkov As we summarized last week, CAS agreed that it was justified for FIS to provisionally suspend Legkov pending further investigations into whether he committed a Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV). However, CAS decided that this provisional suspension could not be infinite and gave it an Oct. 31, 2017, deadline. After that point, FIS must either bring a full ADRV case against Legkov, or...

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FIS on Allowing Suspended Russian Skiers to Rejoin National Team: It’s ‘Special Circumstances’
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FIS on Allowing Suspended Russian Skiers to Rejoin National Team: It’s ‘Special Circumstances’

Chelsea LittleJune 2, 2017

In part of the media storm following the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s response to an appeal by six Russian cross-country skiers, Russian Ski Federation President Elena Valbe announcing the suspensions on Dec. 22, 2016. In cases without a positive drug test, sports federations are allowed to implement an “optional provisional suspension”. This is what FIS put in place on the six Russian skiers, whose samples were allegedly tampered with at the 2014 Olympics. Fussek said...

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FasterSkier’s Coach of the Year: Bernd Eisenbichler
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FasterSkier’s Coach of the Year: Bernd Eisenbichler

FasterSkierApril 12, 2017

With the 2016/2017 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is excited to unveil its annual award winners for this past winter. Votes stem from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and while not scientific, they are intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review. This set of honors goes to a coach or team director who has particularly contributed to their team’s success. Previous categories: Collegiate Skiers of the...

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A Database of the 78 Biathlon Anti-Doping Samples in the McLaren Report
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A Database of the 78 Biathlon Anti-Doping Samples in the McLaren Report

Chelsea LittleJanuary 19, 2017

  78 samples from 38 biathletes are mentioned in in a previous piece, they should not be considered accurate information about whether an athlete did or did not compete in a particular event in Sochi. However, an athlete’s mention in these documents indicates that they were at least competing at a level where their inclusion in the Olympics was possible. Note 2: This is a deeper dive into the evidence after our initial review, on...

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Suspended Vylegzhanin Won Regional Championship, Violating FIS Rules
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Suspended Vylegzhanin Won Regional Championship, Violating FIS Rules

Chelsea LittleJanuary 17, 2017

One result of provisionally suspended six Russian cross-country skiers while it investigates possible doping at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. Among the six was Maxim Vylegzhanin, who won silver medals in the team sprint, relay and 50-kilometer mass start in Sochi. Although Vylegzhanin has not been cleared by FIS, he competed in two regional championship races over the weekend, winning both. In the 15 k skate, for instance, he beat Evgeny Vakhrushev by...

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FIS Suspends Six Skiers over Russian Doping, World Cup Finals Moved from Tyumen (Updated)
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FIS Suspends Six Skiers over Russian Doping, World Cup Finals Moved from Tyumen (Updated)

Chelsea LittleDecember 23, 2016

The International Ski Federation (FIS) 28 athletes being investigated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The cases were brought to light in the McLaren report, an investigation on behalf of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). “As a result of the current circumstances whereby the FIS competition season is in full swing and the competitions and sporting accomplishments of the athletes are being undermined by the shadow of the McLaren Investigation Report, the IOC has empowered FIS...

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The Curious Case of Legkov and the 33 Other Skiers in the McLaren Report (Updated)
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The Curious Case of Legkov and the 33 Other Skiers in the McLaren Report (Updated)

Chelsea LittleDecember 19, 2016

Note: this article has been updated to include more accurate information about Alexander Legkov’s participation at 2014 Russian Championships. At least 34 skiers are referred to in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s McLaren report, including one by name: Alexander Legkov, the 2014 Olympic champion in the 50 kilometer skate. Throughout the report’s evidentiary documents, names of athletes were scrubbed and replaced with alpha-numeric codes. But in one set of emails leaked by Grigory Rodchenkov, Legkov’s name is...

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19 Sample Bottles from Seven Paralympic Skiers Tampered With in Sochi
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19 Sample Bottles from Seven Paralympic Skiers Tampered With in Sochi

Chelsea LittleDecember 16, 2016

Anti-doping sample bottles belonging to seven Russian skiers at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games were tampered with, according to the McLaren report. Russian cross-country skiers won 12 gold medals, nine silver and 11 bronze at those Games. Some of the same athletes also helped win 12 gold medals, 11 silver and seven bronze in biathlon. The report, which was commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and undertaken by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren, found...

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Four Biathletes’ Names Not Scrubbed from McLaren Report; 31 Still Unnamed
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Four Biathletes’ Names Not Scrubbed from McLaren Report; 31 Still Unnamed

Chelsea LittleDecember 15, 2016

The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has received a list of 31 Russian athletes involved in doping, IBU President Anders Besseberg told Norway’s VG newspaper. The information came from Besseberg said. “I reckon that we on the board will make recommendations within a week… of those athletes who the Committee believes should be provisionally excluded.” Some information about the athletes, however, can already be gleaned from the McLaren report. For example, one document in the Evidence...

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As WADA Commission Promises More To Come, Skiing’s Past Doping Scandals Emerge
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As WADA Commission Promises More To Come, Skiing’s Past Doping Scandals Emerge

Chelsea LittleNovember 24, 2015

Norway's TV2 says it has found out that Estonian cross-country skier Kristina Smigun is likely to be stripped of her 2006 Olympic gold medals; national and international federations seem happy to discuss, but the IOC will not. Meanwhile, a Norwegian Paralympian alleges Russians had separate (and comically short) doping control tests at the 2014 Olympics.

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