The international federations for cross-country skiing and biathlon tout that they have done more against Russian doping than the IAAF - for instance, re-testing old samples with new methods, or sanctioning the Russian ski federation. But WADA's report still scared them, and they want more information.
Jürg Capol, the marketing director for FIS's nordic side, doesn't predict there will be a second Ski Tour Canada and says there's little television interest in Europe. Cross Country Canada's Dave Dyer disagrees, and says that many European squads have stated they will send a full team of top racers.
To help with high-altitude training, the Finnish national team is skiing with 2-liter oxygen canisters on their backs which they breathe through face masks. Although not banned by WADA, Vegard Ulvang and others have expressed doubt and discomfort with the setup.
Athletes will likely no longer face the testing at Olympic Games. The decision has few other implications for skiing, which has not had occasion to do gender testing for several years: “Should it be necessary to arrange a gender verification... then the Olympic Movement rules would be applicable,” FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis told FasterSkier.
Starting with a freestyle sprint in Gatineau, Quebec and concluding with 10 and 15 k classic pursuits in Canmore, Alberta the eight-stage Ski Tour Canada 2016 will take place over the course of the first 12 days of March.
If everything goes according to plan the world’s best junior and U23 nordic skiers will descend upon Park City, Utah in the winter of 2017. The United States Ski and Snowboard Association announced Tuesday that organizing body submitted a bid for the 2017 Junior/U23 World Championships.
Not only has Norway dominated cross country World Cup podiums, but their skier have also taken home more than half of the available prize money. Marit Bjørgen alone has won 1/3 of the total money available to the women's field. How does everyone else stack up, and how does this relate to World Cup points?
After July 31 next week, USSA will stop funding U.S. Nordic Combined. Sounds like doomsday, but U.S. NoCo has a plan. Bryan Fletcher explains how they've already teamed up with U.S.A. Ski Jumping to form a unified "U.S.A. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined".
FIS Anti-Doping Coordinator Sarah Fussek says that her federation is in the very early stages of harmonizing their Athlete Biological Passport testing protocol with other winter sports federations, with a possible end result of the IOC taking over all testing at the Olympics. This would allow FIS to do more testing at other events in Olympic years.
Press Release, June 20, 2014 Temperatures are dropping and the ski fields in Australia and New Zealand will soon be opening. In Australia cross country skiing club races begin at the start of July, with all FIS competitions in AUS and NZL taking place in August. Any elite international racers planning to compete in FIS races in the southern hemisphere should note that FIS registration for the 2014/2015 season is now due. Athletes wishing to...
We read the FIS Anti-Doping Rules so you don't have to. Here are the answers to a few important questions in the wake of the Johannes Dürr EPO scandal. Yes, he was in FIS's registered testing pool (or at least, he should have been according to their own rules); and yes, they have a biological passport program. Dürr still dodged 14 tests, likely in part because of the short half-life of EPO.
The fourth-fastest qualifier, Andy Newell went on to place sixth in the men's 1.4 k skate sprint in Beitostølen, Norway, on Sunday -- not exactly what he was hoping for, but not bad for his first skate sprint since August. Simi Hamilton qualified in 15th and had an unlucky break that put him 27th overall.
The U.S. women closed out their weekend in Beitostølen on top, with Kikkan Randall winning Sunday's 1.2 k skate sprint ahead of two Slovenians and three Norwegians, including Marit Bjørgen. Ida Sargent placed 13th and three other Americans made the top 20.
Liz Stephen tossed out all ideas of pacing and went for it in Saturday's 10 k, capturing sixth in the freestyle FIS race, and Noah Hoffman listened to his "patience" cues to end up seventh in the men's 15 k free in Beitostølen, Norway. Also on the USST, Holly Brooks came closer to the top 10 in 12th.
Ever wonder how skiers from places like Argentina get to go to the Olympics? The meet qualifying standards just like everybody else, while also meeting their own nation's criteria. Even in a place like New Zealand, it's not easy. " I do not understand New Zealand's reluctance to support winter sport, other than those in the top 16 in the world,” national-team member Sarah Murphy says.
Although Andrus Veerpalu technically won his doping appeal against FIS, the issues at stake actually had nothing to do with the ski federation - they were rather under WADA's domain. In an interview with FasterSkier, FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis talked about what this means for federations like hers which have to follow WADA's scientific lead.
Nobody really knew what to expect when Québec City hosted its first World Cup last weekend. Between the spectators, course and conditions, everything was a bit of a surprise. International athletes and coaches sum up their experiences.
Ever wonder who’s behind the FIS Cross-Country Twitter feed? This season, that would be Jeff Ellis. About two weeks ago, Ellis started his new job as FIS Cross-Country Marketing Support, a job which involves interviewing his wife, Kikkan Randall.
Note: For more on Professor Ljungqvist’s fight against doping in Sweden, and its effect on Scandinavian sport culture, you can read
The newest edition of the FIS Homologation Manual was published this month and two changes are significant for North American venues. Major A-climbs now require five fewer meters of elevation gain, and courses that reach above 1800 m have been clarified as eligible for certification (and always have been) at the Continental Cup level and below. According to John Aalberg, a FIS homologation coordinator for North America, the elevation clarification and A-climb reduction were...