July 05, 2011 (Helsinki, Finland) – Mika Myllylä, one of Finland’s most successful xc skiers, was found dead in his apartment in the northwest town of Kokkola reports Associated Press. Apparently no crime was involved but few details have been released.

The 41 year-old xc skier won six Olympic medals including gold in the 30km classic at the 1998 Games in Nagano. He was a four-time world champion as well but fell from grace following a positive doping test at the 2001 Nordic Worlds in Lahti, one of the famous Lahti Six who were all caught doping there.

He was banned for two years and the scandal rocked the sport for many years as Myllylä went through difficult times including a marriage breakdown and alcohol abuse. He returned to competitive racing but didn’t qualify for Finland’s team and retired in 2005.

The Lahti Six doping fiasco was recently in the news again as a trial was held in Finland involving a libel case against the Finnish news agency, STT, brought by the defendants who claimed that a 1998 story by reporter Johanna Aatsalo and editor Kari Vaisanen was false – read more on the case HERE.

AP article on Myllyla HERE.