During the Nordic Skiing World Championships, nine people were taken into custody in doping raids that occurred in Germany and Austria.
Five professional skiers and a doctor were among those taken into custody after a series of raids by German and Austrian law enforcement officials, which were a part of a larger police operation aimed at criminals from various European nations. Throughout the operation, WADA’s Intelligence and Investigations Department collaborated with the authorities.
One athlete was “caught in the act…He was picked up with a blood transfusion in his arm,” according to the Austrian Federal Police. Following the release of the documentary “Doping Top Secret: Confession, Inside the mind of a doper,” in which Austrian skier Johannes Dürr admitted he frequently had his blood altered in Germany, the investigation got underway.
A “German based criminal organization, that is strongly suspected of having been doping top athletes to increase their performance in domestic and international competitions, thereby gaining illegal revenues,” is the focus of the inquiry, according to the police, who confirmed this.
It is hardly the first doping scandal in the sport’s history. Six Austrian athletes were disqualified from the Olympics for life in 2006 after it was discovered they had used prohibited substances during the Games in Turin.