Grigory Rodchenkov – FasterSkier

CAS Ruling Removes Lifetime Ban for Three Russian Biathletes

FasterSkierSeptember 24, 2020

The Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) announced Thursday that three Russian biathletes implicated for doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics had their lifetime bans overturned. The biathletes in question, Olga Vilukhina, Yana Romanova, and Olga Zaitseva were first handed lifetime bans in 2017 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The McLaren Report included information tying the three athletes to doping. The IOC subsequently ruled the three Russians had committed an ADRV, or...

Doping Feature News

Evi Sachenbacher: Sacrificial Lamb on the Doping Altar

Peter MindeAugust 11, 2020

A career ended prematurely, for no reason. During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher failed a doping test. Although the ensuing ban was subsequently reduced from two years to six months, it effectively ended her career. New information seems to confirm that Sachenbacher’s positive drugs test at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi had nothing to do with deliberate doping. Rather, she was used as a sacrificial pawn by...

Doping General News Olympics Racing World Cup

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...

Doping Opinion

More Than Medals: Clean Sport in the ‘Icarus’ Era (Op-Ed)

FasterSkierMarch 21, 2018

Editor’s Note: The following thoroughly cited opinion piece, prompted by the 2017 ‘Icarus’ documentary, was written by Maks Zechel, a 20-year-old Canadian cross-country skier who spent the 2017/2018 race season training abroad with Team Asker in Norway. Zechel is a regular contributor at FasterSkier, with his ongoing series: “Closing the Gap”. *** February 23, 2014 Sochi: a home Olympics and the opportunity of a lifetime. Russia, despite being one of the strongest skiing nations in the...

Biathlon Doping General News Olympics Racing

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....

Doping News Olympics Racing World Cup

IOC Sanctions Legkov, Belov for Doping in Sochi, Rules Out of 2018 Olympics (Updated x3)

Chelsea LittleNovember 1, 2017

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled that Russian cross-country skiers Alexander Legkov and Evgeniy Belov doped at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The IOC Disciplinary Commission headed by Denis Oswald, referred to as the Oswald Commission, issued a decision today stating that the two athletes had violated Article 2 of the anti-doping rules for Sochi. As a result, Legkov’s gold medal in the 50-kilometer freestyle mass start, the Russian men’s silver medal in the...

Doping News Olympics Racing World Cup

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...

Doping News Olympics Para Nordic Racing

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...

Doping News

McLaren Report II: Systematic Doping Continued After Sochi Games

Jason AlbertDecember 9, 2016

Neither good news or athlete's names were released this morning as part of WADA's publishing of it's second McLaren Report: the investigation into systematic Russian Doping.

General Interviews News

The Delicate Case of Russia: Who’s Speaking Out and Why

Alex KochonMay 17, 2016

When news broke last week that 14 Russian cross-country skiers may have doped at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, stakeholders in the sport reacted around the globe. Some, like Canada's then head coach Justin Wadsworth, essentially predicted that two years ago at the Games. Others, like French skier Robin Duvillard, tried not to get too caught up in it, but he might by default.

Biathlon Olympics Racing

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.

General Interviews News

Insider Couple Implies Widespread Doping in Russian Sports in 60 Minutes Interview

BrainspiralMay 9, 2016

On Sunday evening, 60 Minutes aired a 13-minute interview with Vitaly and Yuliya Stepanov, the whistleblowers who prompted a German documentary on Russia's systematic doping in track and field and WADA's resulting ban on the entire team. Vitaly suggests the corruption extends to Russian Winter Olympians as well, including at least four who achieved gold in Sochi with the help of federal agents.