For Throwback Thursday, we're reposting a November editorial calling for WADA to investigate doping in winter sports and irregularities at the Sochi Olympics. How many of our questions have been answered in the last six months?
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Chelsea Little
Chelsea Little is FasterSkier's Editor-At-Large. A former racer at Ford Sayre, Dartmouth College and the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, she is a PhD candidate in aquatic ecology in the @Altermatt_lab at Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. You can follow her on twitter @ChelskiLittle.
“There needs to be an investigation by WADA,” International Ski Federation (FIS) Secretary General Sarah Lewis told FasterSkier in a phone interview on Monday. “FIS totally supports it and we have already expressed that anything we can provide, we will do. And it needs to be done [quickly], but carefully.”
High Plains Remains a Division as USSA Studies Jr. Nationals Qualification
Chelsea LittleMay 15, 2016
USSA CEO Tiger Shaw explains how the Cross Country Sport Committee unanimously voted to reaffiliate High Plains, while making a task force to examine some of the issues over the summer: "It was democratic, it went to committee, all the major players were there and had their say."
14 Cross Country Skiers Among the Russians Alleged to Have Doped in Sochi
Chelsea LittleMay 12, 2016
The New York Times reports that dozens of Russian athletes doped at the 2014 Olympics, and that the head of the anti-doping laboratory helped them cover it up. Among those named is Alexander Legkov, the gold medalist in the 50 k freestyle - a race where the Russian men swept the podium.
Biathlon Veteran Perras Ventures Further into ‘Adulthood’ as AWCA HP Coach
Chelsea LittleMay 12, 2016
Scott Perras didn't know that this would be his last season as a professional biathlete, but he's not stepping away from skiing as the new high-performance coach at the Alberta World Cup Academy. "The last seven years, I kind of got to live like I won the lottery," he reflected.
Rebecca Watson, the board chair of the High Plains division, was surprised by an email saying that USSA was ending the affiliation agreement with the division - without warning or a probationary period to improve the weaknesses that USSA says it finds in Wyoming. Others on the Cross Country Committee, which is now set to discuss the topic at USSA Congress, said they were also surprised.
In an excerpt from an interview to be aired on Sunday on 60 Minutes, a whistleblower from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency said that four Russian gold medalists from the 2014 Olympics were using steroids during the Games.
Biathletes Artem Tyshchenko and Eduard Latypov and cross-country skier Kirill Vichuzhanin have had their provisional suspensions for meldonium lifted, as their samples contained less than 1 μg/mL of the drug. Cases for Eva Tofalvi and Olga Abramova are yet to be decided.
Kalla Leaves Swedish National Team to Train Alone; Richardsson and Olsson Are Back
Chelsea LittleApril 26, 2016
Charlotte Kalla is trying the Petter Northug model and will train outside of her country's national team this season, instead collaborating with her coach Magnus Ingesson at Piteå Elit. Meanwhile, after a year of focusing on Ski Classics, Johan Olsson and Daniel Richardsson are back to the national team.
Biathlon Canada has named an eight-athlete 'A' squad, as well as a 'B' team, 'Z' team, and '2022 squad'.
The IBU Anti-Doping Hearing Panel has deferred judgement on the meldonium cases of Ukrainian biathletes Olga Abramova and Artem Tyshchenko until WADA completes a report on how quickly the drug leaves athletes' bodies.
Bjørndalen to Continue Biathlon Career; Expecting Child with Domracheva in October
Chelsea LittleApril 5, 2016
42-year-old Norwegian biathlon star Ole Einar Bjørndalen made three big announcements on Tuesday: that he will continue his career, despite rumors of retirement; that he's stepping down from his position with the International Olympic Committee; and that he and Belorussian biathlete Darya Domracheva are expecting a child together.
The Olympic gold medalist said that he had used mildronate, also known as meldonium, in the past, but "[did] not even remember" the last time he had taken it and had seen in September that it would be added to the WADA Prohibited List.
After graduating from college with a math degree, I was stuck in a call-center job that I hated and struggling with a family history of anxiety and heart disease. Then a few good mentors got me cross-country skiing. I've since enrolled in grad school at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and joined their ski team. Almost every aspect of my life changed for the better.
In Last Chance Before Retirement, Cook Earns Mass Start NorAm Title; Burke Tops for Men
Chelsea LittleMarch 27, 2016
After mulling it for over a year, Annelies Cook knew a few weeks ago: it was time to retire. She was able to go out on top after winning the mass start at NorAm Championships on Saturday. "It has been a really amazing adventure," she said. "I don’t think there’s a sport like it that makes you feel so much."
Four-Year Ban For Wurm, Who Admits Doping; Used Cobalt to Boost Performance
Chelsea LittleMarch 26, 2016
Austrian skier and former U23 World Champion Harald Wurm has been suspended from competition for four years, effectively ending the 31-year-old's career. He seems to have been using cobalt, which is highly effective at promoting the production of red blood cells when it is inhaled (much like xenon or argon).
Thriller in the Snow as Bø Grabs Final Gold of Biathlon World Champs; Bailey 10th, Burke 12th
Chelsea LittleMarch 13, 2016
Martin Fourcade was on a quest to sweep the individual medals of World Championships. But one man stood in his way: Norway's Johanne Thingnes Bø. “Today I was a little bit stronger than him in the track," said Bø. "I think my motivation for winning one gold was bigger than his for a fifth gold.”
Mass Start Complete, Dreissigacker Bids Adieu to International Biathlon
Chelsea LittleMarch 13, 2016
Vermonter Hannah Dreissigacker finished 27th in the final race of her international biathlon career, the 12.5 k mass start at World Championships. “I love biathlon,” Dreissigacker mused. “I have to say, it’s a really really amazing sport."
Dorin Habert Perfect in Mass Start Gold; Dunklee 11th, Crawford 15th in Biathlon World Champs
Chelsea LittleMarch 13, 2016
Both Susan Dunklee of the U.S. and Rosanna Crawford of Canada turned in their best ever results in a Championship mass start, but were looking for more. “I was certainly dreaming of medals here, and I feel like my level is high enough that I’m capable of being on the podium at an event like this," Dunklee said.
Canadian Men Claim First Ever Biathlon World Champs Relay Medal, Bronze in Oslo
Chelsea LittleMarch 12, 2016
Canada had never won a championships relay medal - until today, when the men came together for bronze in Oslo, a result that both surprised them and didn't. "We’re teammates, we’re friends, but we’re fighting every day to be better than each other, said Nathan Smith. "I knew that if we had a better day it was possible. Not so likely, but possible."