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

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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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Legkov and Seven Other Skiers’ Doping Bans Overturned by CAS (Updated)
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Legkov and Seven Other Skiers’ Doping Bans Overturned by CAS (Updated)

Chelsea LittleFebruary 1, 2018

((Update: In accordance with the CAS decision outlined below, thewrote in a press release. “With respect to these 28 athletes, the appeals are upheld, the sanctions annulled and their individual results achieved in Sochi 2014 are reinstated.” The athletes whose results will be reinstated are: 50 k gold medalist and relay silver medalist Alexander Legkov 50 k silver medalist, team sprint and relay silver medalist Maxim Vylegzhanin, also fourth in the 30 k skiathlon relay...

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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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IOC Posts Decision: Rodchenkov Swapped Out Legkov’s Sample Night After Olympic 50 k Gold
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IOC Posts Decision: Rodchenkov Swapped Out Legkov’s Sample Night After Olympic 50 k Gold

Chelsea LittleNovember 27, 2017

At long last, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has published its full decision explaining its reasons for disqualifying Russian cross-country skier Alexander Legkov from the 2014 Olympics and banning him from all future Games. In it: a description of how a second laboratory independently confirmed a finding from the McLaren Report that two of Legkov’s urine sample bottles from Sochi had been tampered with. The decision also reveals that Grigory Rodchenkov, the former Moscow anti-doping...

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

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Shaw: Remove Conflicts of Interest in Sport, Ban Russia from PyeongChang
DopingGeneralInterviewsNewsOlympicsRacingUS Ski Team

Shaw: Remove Conflicts of Interest in Sport, Ban Russia from PyeongChang

Chelsea LittleOctober 26, 2017

ZURICH, Switzerland—Tucked at the top of U.S. Ski and Snowboard’s list of proposals for policy changes at the recent International Ski Federation (FIS) Technical Meetings here was this: “Independent Doping Panel.” The idea was developed along with the Norwegians, who submitted an identical proposal. U.S. Ski and Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw explained that at the moment, FIS decisions made on doping may be made by individuals who also serve other roles in the...

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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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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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