March 2, 2008 (Vienna, Austria) – Three Austrian biathletes have launched legal action against “unknown persons” and against an Austrian daily newspaper following publication of their names on a list of athletes linked to the Humanplasma alleged doping scandal. The three, Christoph Sumann, Daniel Mesotitisch and Ludwig Greller, were reacting to the anonymous publication of the list by the daily, Oesterreich, on February 16. Some 31 biathletes and cyclists were named in all; most of them are from Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. German biathlete and two-time Olympic champion Uschi Disl, whose name also appeared on the list, equally threatened legal action.

In January, cyclists Michael Rasmussen, Michael Boogerd, and Denis Menchov were named by the German television network ARD as having been clients at Humanplasma Laboratory and all denied the allegations. ARD later retracted the story.

The German Ski Federation (DSV) then threatened libel suits against the journalists who put together the report rather than against the television network, ARD, which is one of DSV’s sponsors. The DSV did file suit in February, but it is unclear if this legal action still targeted only the journalists.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) alerted Austrian authorities last year about suspected systemic doping being conducted at the Vienna-based Humanplasma laboratories. Austria’s Secretary for Sport, Reinhold Lopatka, indicated that he hoped the investigation would be completed soon because the accusations were damaging to the sporting milieu. In the meantime, athletes on the list are eligible for legal aid to defend their names.

For the full story click www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/20/sports/EU-SPT-BIA-Doping-Austria.php“>here.