May 13, 2013 (Montreal, QC) – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) made significant progress in its mission to enhance global support in the fight against doping in sport during the Agency’s Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings held in Montreal this weekend.

The meetings focused mainly on proposed amendments to the third draft of the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code in context of the Code Review Process with stakeholders that commenced in November 2011. The review process included three phases of consultation and will conclude at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 12-15, 2013.

A large number of submissions were received from stakeholders during the three phases of the consultation process. There have been nearly 4,000 individual comments on the Code and International Standards.

“WADA values the input of these stakeholders and is pleased with the level of their engagement throughout the review process,” confirmed John Fahey, WADA President. “The Agency continually seeks to enhance the framework that supports the anti-doping system, and revisions depend on these contributions.”

With the third draft, the Code becomes clearer in language, shorter in length, and the articles stronger. The amendments put forward provide for:

– Longer periods of ineligibility for real cheats and more flexibility in sanctioning in other specific circumstances.
– Consideration of the principles of proportionality and human rights.
– Assistance in the increasing importance of investigations in the fight against doping.
– Encompassing Athlete Support Personnel who are involved in doping.
– Emphasis on the concepts of smart test distribution planning, smart menus for Sample analysis, and smart Sample storage.
– Added clarity and equality in balancing the interests of International Federations and National Anti-Doping Organizations.

Code Compliance Strategy
The WADA Foundation Board acknowledged the Code compliance strategy for monitoring compliance of the “2015 World Anti-Doping Code.”

WADA has looked at ways to improve the compliance report and to ensure it is a tool to measure quality and to judge the effectiveness of anti-doping programs.

“Quality WADA-approved testing programs are needed to ensure, that testing is effective and that sophisticated cheaters are found. This will ultimately advance the fight against doping in sport,” said Mr. Fahey.

Effectiveness of Testing Programs
The WADA Foundation Board received a report from the Ad Hoc Working Group responsible for reviewing the “ineffectiveness of testing” programs. The Ad Hoc Working Group, chaired by former WADA President Richard W. Pound, made a number of recommendations and suggestions on improvements to testing programs. WADA has immediately responded to the issues the Agency can address from a management perspective.

The Code Drafting Team responsible for revising the Code and International Standards noted all the recommendations affecting the revision process and incorporated many of them within the drafts provided at the weekend meetings.

A significant amount of work in response to the report has already been undertaken. Other recommendations are for the respective stakeholder groups to consider. The WADA Executive Committee directed that these groups be informed and asked to report to the Executive Committee at its meeting on 11 September in Buenos Aires.

World Conference on Doping in Sport
Foundation Board Members were presented with the approved program of the World Conference on Doping in Sport to be held November 12-15 in Johannesburg. The main focus will be the review and endorsement of the final version of the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code and related International Standards.

The WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board will convene in Johannesburg prior to the Conference and following its conclusion. A special meeting of the Foundation Board will also be required to approve the World Anti-Doping Code and International Standards prior to the Conference endorsing them.

Other matters
Further to the CAS award in the Andrus Veerpalu case last March, as the CAS panel was not “comfortably satisfied” with the decision limits currently applied to hGH testing, WADA is undertaking the work required to re-establish the limits with the assistance of independent teams of statisticians.

The Executive Committee has decided to implement immediately a modification to WADA Technical document TD 2013DL to increase the threshold level for marijuana to 150 ng/ml. Marijuana is a prohibited substance for in-competition testing, and remains on the Prohibited List. It has never been prohibited out-of-competition. The change to the threshold will mean that athletes using the substance in-competition will be detected. The threshold can be monitored and changed at any time.

The Athlete Committee urged the Kenyan government to put in place an independent inquiry to look into the doping allegations that the country’s athletes have been facing for some time now.

May 02, 2013 – The FIS anti-doping programme focus turns from the post-competition tests to a substantial out-of-competition testing programme in order to maintain the fight against the use of doping in skiing and snowboarding.

During the 2012/2013 competition season, FIS performed as many as 2,170 out-of-competition tests, including blood (246) and urine tests (498, whereby 291 with EPO analysis) as well as blood passport samples (1,426).

These numbers include the pre-competition blood controls that were carried out at the FIS World Ski Championships and FIS Junior World Ski Championships.

Additionally 643 in-competition urine tests were completed by FIS at World Cup and World Championship events, whereby 205 samples were additionally analysed for EPO. Furthermore, a small number of blood samples were collected (35 blood, 14 blood passport samples).

In addition, a large number of doping controls were carried out by the National Anti-Doping Agencies both in- and out-of-competition.

For detailed year-by-year statistics click HERE.

November 19, 2012 (Montreal, QC) – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is now proposing that sanctions for serious, first-time doping offences be increased to four years from the present two years. This proposal, scheduled to take effect in 2015, was contained in a second draft of the new World Anti-Doping Code discussed at a meeting in Montreal this past weekend.

In a conference call with journalists this morning, WADA President John Fahey spoke about how member groups of his organization “overwhelmingly asked for sanctions to be increased [for those caught doping] with substances such as anabolic steroids and human growth hormones.”

Fahey also made repeated references to the “Armstrong Affair” and revealed that WADA closely studied USADA’s reasoned decision against Lance Armstrong. “This was a most comprehensive judgment and no one could doubt that [the reasoned decision] is right,” he said. And Fahey denied that USADA had gone beyond what WADA rules allowed it to do.

During the same conference call, Fahey confirmed a zero-percent funding increase for WADA in 2013. But he said that WADA has sufficient financial reserves to keep doing its work to combat doping, at least in the short term.

November 15, 2012 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) has released its 2011-2012 Annual Report. We encourage you to read our Annual Report to learn more about the exciting initiatives that we worked on this year. As always, we welcome any comments or questions you may have.

“We see ourselves as contributing in three interconnected ways to fair, safe and open sport in Canada. The first way is through our role in protecting the integrity of sport and our administration of the CADP for, and on behalf of, Canadian sport – part of our “acute response system.” The second way is our upstream work on preventing doping and other ethical issues by helping to activate a principle-driven sport system at all levels – our long term “prevention strategy.” And the third way is our role in advocating and facilitating an ethical orientation and approach to all issues in sport. This relies on the use of values and principles to guide decision-making when the rules of sport do not or cannot.”

Download the CCES 2011-2012 Annual Report HERE.

October 25, 2012 (Ottawa, ON) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) would like to alert the Canadian sport community that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has released the 2013 Prohibited List. This advisory note details some of the major changes, which will come into effect January 1, 2013.

Under Beta-2 agonists (S3), the maximum permitted dosage of formoterol has increased to 54 micrograms over 24 hours, based on the delivered dose of the drug and not the metered dose. The urinary threshold has been increased to 40 nanograms per millilitre. All beta-2 agonists, excluding sub-threshold levels of formoterol, salbutamol and salmeterol when administered by inhalation, are still prohibited and continue to require a medical exemption.

Beta-blockers (P2) are no longer prohibited in the following sports: aeronautics, boules, bridge, ninepin and tenpin bowling, and powerboating. They remain prohibited in seven sports, including archery, golf, shooting, ski jumping, and some freestyle ski and snowboard disciplines.

Insulins have been moved from the Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors and Related Substances (S2) section to the Hormone and Metabolic Modulators (S4) section. Metabolic Modulators (S4.5a) is considered a more appropriate category for insulins based on their mechanism of action.

Under Anabolic Agents (S1), etiocholanolone has been added to the S1.b section as an example of a testosterone metabolite. 

The CCES would like to remind athletes and their support personnel that some stimulants, like many drugs, have several alternate names. For example, methylhexaneamine can be listed under a variety of names, including 1,3-dimethylpentylamine, pentylamine, geranamine, floradrene, forthane and DMAA.

Athletes can verify the prohibited status of their medication using the following CCES resources, all of which will be updated on January 1, 2013 to reflect the new Prohibited List.

– Global DRO (www.globaldro.com)
– CCES Substance Classification Booklet (www.cces.ca/scb)
– Email substances@cces.ca
– Call the Info Line at 1-800-672-7775

For substances that require a medical exemption, athletes subject to doping control should consult the CCES or their international federation to get complete information on the application process.

– The CCES Medical Exemption Wizard (www.cces.ca/mewizard) can help athletes find out if they need to apply for an exemption for their prescribed medication, where to submit the application, and what to include in it.
– Email tue-aut@cces.ca.

Further reading:

– World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List web page (including the 2013 list, summary of changes, and explanatory note) www.wada-ama.org/en/Science-Medicine/Prohibited-List/

– World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption web page www.wada-ama.org/en/Science-Medicine/TUE/

September 28, 2012 (Montreal, QC) – Following approval by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Executive Committee on September 10, the 2013 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods is now available. Noteworthy changes to the List, which will come into force on January 1, 2013, include:

Rewording of section on Prohibited Methods
In order to make Section M1 more encompassing to include all kinds of manipulation of blood and blood components, the title and body of Section M1 has been changed.

The title of M1 now reads ‘Manipulation of Blood and Blood Components’, while M2.3 has been deleted as it is now included in this revised category under M1.3, which reads “any form of intravascular manipulation of the blood or blood components by physical or chemical means.”

Section M3, which covers gene doping, has also been reworded to provide a more precise definition of this prohibited method.

Beta-blockers
At the request of the Confédération mondiale des sports de boules (CMSB), Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ), and Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), beta-blockers are no longer prohibited in the sports of boules, ninepin and tenpin bowling, and powerboating.

Clarification of stimulants
To give more clarity, under Section 6 for Stimulants it has been confirmed that all optical isomers where relevant are prohibited.

Monitoring Program
In order to reveal potential patterns of abuse, tapentadol has been added to the Monitoring Program in 2013 under in-competition narcotics.

Mobile-friendly formats
In an effort to provide stakeholders with tools to support anti-doping activities and following the successful iPhone application introduced in 2011, the 2013 Prohibited List will again be available on iPhone and other mobile devices.

In addition to English, French and Spanish versions of the List, it is also possible to translate the List into other languages.

Stakeholders who wish to translate the List can do so by November 1, 2012 and send WADA the new version to be inserted in the mobile-friendly platforms at minimal cost.

To consult the 2013 Prohibited List, the 2013 Monitoring Program, a summary of modifications on the 2013 List, and a Q&A on any changes, please click HERE.

September 26, 2012 (Helsinki, Finland) – A new documentary to be released on October 5 in Finland focuses on former decorated cross-country skier Juha Mieto and suggests for the first time that the 1980 Olympic silver medalist used performance enhancing substances, reports the Helsingin Sanomat at HS.fi.

In the film, titled “Blue and White Lies”, former Finnish weightlifing gold medalist Kaarlo Kangasniemi claims that Mieto asked his advice about the use of anabolic steroids in a conversation in a sauna in 1975. The documentary contains other interviews that claim “hormone research” and blood transfusions were used among Finnish skiers in the ’70s.

Read the full article HERE.

April 23, 2012 – Although support is still strong for him in many quarters in Estonia, disgraced two-time skiing gold medalist Andrus Veerpalu will lose out on state funding for a while – the stipend that the Cultural Endowment pays all living Olympic champions.

Veerpalu, who tested positive for doping last year, is not among this year’s recipients of the benefit, which consists of semi-annual payments of 1,150 euros each.

Secretary General of the Olympic Committee Toomas Tõnise said Veerpalu’s name could not be proposed this time as it would have gone against international anti-doping rules, which forbid sanctioned athletes from receiving public sector money…

Link to the ERR article HERE.

April 03, 2012 (Ottawa, ON) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, an internationally recognized leader in the fight against doping in sport, will celebrate its 20th anniversary tonight in a landmark event. Twenty years ago, Canada established a new, independent anti-doping organization, and today the Centre extends its thanks to the dedicated members of the sport community for their active involvement in helping to shape what it has become.

A modest celebration in the national capital region will honour three important contributors to Canadian and international successes in the field. Dr. Christiane Ayotte, director of the doping control laboratory at the INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, the World Anti-Doping Agency accredited laboratory in Montreal, is known for her groundbreaking work in the detection of doping substances. Mr. Victor Lachance, the first CEO of the organization and a key leader in the evolution of anti-doping in Canada and around the world, continues to advocate for the important role of sport in Canada. Dr. Andrew Pipe, Chair of the Board for 12 years and a leading sport medicine physician, led the Centre through its evolution into a guardian and advocate for ethical sport in all its forms.

“It’s a testament to the value of our work that each of our three honourees have been with us through our entire existence,” said Dr. Louise Walker, Chair of the Board of Directors. “Our vision of Canadian sport that is fair, safe and open inspires our partners and employees, and helps to mobilize all Canadians in support of this important outcome.” It all began with the Commission of Inquiry Into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance. The inquiry, conducted by Ontario Appeal Court Chief Justice Charles Dubin, revealed shocking details about the extent of the doping problem and spurred the creation of the Canadian Anti-Doping Organization, an organization independent from government and sport with a mandate to ensure doping-free sport in Canada. The following year, the organization was renamed the Canadian Centre for Drug-Free Sport, then in 1995 it merged with Fair Play Canada to become the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

“A lot has changed over the past two decades, but the Centre’s dedication to providing the Canadian sport community with quality services has remained the same since day one,” said Paul Melia, President and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. “We take pride in our many achievements. Our support led to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games being the cleanest in recent history. We were one of the first anti-doping organizations to receive and maintain ISO certification. And our comprehensive approach to unethical sport, including striking at the root causes, is being emulated around the world.”

Over 20 years of serving the Canadian sport system, the Centre has established the Canadian Anti-Doping Program as a model for anti-doping programs globally, and supported the role of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Equally important, the Centre is a proud leader in the True Sport Movement, which aims to see values-based and principle-driven sport become the norm for all Canadian communities.

February 28, 2012 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) would like to remind all those interested in helping shape the future of drug-free sport that the survey for our anti-doping rules consultation closes on February 29. Click HERE to view the survey.

December 07, 2011 (St. Catharines, ON) – Brock University is conducting a study on Coaches’ perception of their ability to deal with athletes suspected of doping. The study is being conducted by Phd candidate Kaitlyn LaForge-MacKenzie under the supervision of Dr. Sullivan. Any coaches who complete the survey may enter a random draw for a $50 gift card. If you are interested in participating in the study, please click HERE and complete the survey. Your participation should take about 15 minutes.

November 24, 2011 (Kuusamo, Finland) – Today will see the official launch of new FIS campaign known as Skiers and Snowboarders Say NO! to Doping – “Clean as Snow” in Ruka, Kuusamo, Finland.

Say NO! To Doping is an awareness campaign created by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for organizations to unite behind doping-free sport. FIS is fully committed to the fight against doping and is proud to launch the campaign with the support of the FIS Athletes’ Commission. At the FIS Nordic Opening in Ruka, all participating athletes are encouraged to promote the campaign through Clean as Snow material as well as signing a branded Clean as Snow glass in the finish area. During the 2011/12 competition season, all FIS Cross-Country World Cup athletes’ training bibs are also branded with the Clean as Snow logo.

The Clean as Snow campaign will be promoted at select FIS World Cup events across disciplines. For more information, please visit HERE or for Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE.

November 18, 2011 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) would like to alert the Canadian sport community that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has released the 2012 Prohibited List. This advisory note details some of the major changes, which come into effect January 1, 2012.

Under Beta-2 Agonists (S3), formoterol is no longer prohibited when taken at a dosage under 36 micrograms over 24 hours. The 2011 list dropped the prohibition on two other beta-2 agonists under certain levels (salbutamol at 1,600 micrograms over 24 hours and salmeterol at an inhaled dose). These changes permit the use of certain asthma medications at a physician-prescribed dosage. Athletes are no longer required to obtain a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for formoterol, sabutamol and salmeterol when administered by inhalation, however, the three substances remained prohibited by any other route. All other beta-2 agonists, including terbutaline, are still prohibited and continue to require a TUE.

Beta-blockers (P2) are no longer prohibited in the following sports: bobsleigh, skeleton, curling, modern pentathlon, motorcycling, sailing and wrestling. They remain prohibited in 12 sports, including archery, golf, shooting, ski jumping, and some freestyle ski and snowboard disciplines.

The CCES would like to remind athletes and their support personnel that pseudoephedrine is prohibited in-competition. Because this stimulant is a common ingredient in cough and cold medications, athletes should diligently check all seasonal medications to avoid an inadvertent violation. For more details and a list of prohibited and not prohibited cough and cold medications, visit www.cces.ca/en/coughcold.

WADA conducts a Monitoring Program to detect potential patterns of abuse of substances that are not on the Prohibited List. Nicotine is one of several stimulants added to the Monitoring Program for 2012. For more details, click HERE.

Athletes can verify the prohibited status of their medication using the following CCES resources, all of which will be updated on January 1, 2012 to reflect the new Prohibited List.

– Global DRO (www.globaldro.com)
– CCES Substance Classification Booklet (www.cces.ca/scb)
– Email substances@cces.ca
– Call the Info Line at 1-800-672-7775

For substances that require a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), athletes subject to doping control should consult the CCES or their international federation to get complete information on the application process.

– The CCES TUE Wizard (www.cces.ca/tuewizard) can help athletes find out if they need to apply for a TUE for their prescribed medication, where to submit a TUE application, and what to include in the TUE application.
– Email tue-aut@cces.ca.

Further reading:
– World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List web page (including the 2012 list, summary of changes, and explanatory note) HERE.
– World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption web page HERE.

October 26, 2011 – Recognizing that athletes are subject to ongoing anti-doping regulations and testing, the “I Tested Positive?” resources were adopted by AthletesCAN to provide a straight-forward and independent guide to assist athletes should they be committed of an anti-doping rule violation according to the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP).

This is an important resource for all athletes. The focus of this guide is to prepare athletes for an anti-doping hearing. Throughout the guide, links are provided to relevant portions of the CADP and to other resources that may be of assistance. The contents of the guide are presented in roughly the order that events will actually occur and each part of the guide deals with a separate topic or issue.

Be sure to share this important information with your athletes, teammates and coaches.

Click HERE for the “I Tested Positive?” resources.

August 19, 2011 (Vienna, Austria) – The criminal trial of former Austrian ski coach Walter Mayer, 54,  has ended with a guilty verdict and a 15-month jail term after Mayer was found guilty of supplying doping materials to athletes, reports Reuters. He was accused of disseminating banned substances to several top athletes between the years 2005 and 2009.

Read the full Reuters article HERE.
Read a previous article about the trial HERE.

June 27, 2011 (Montreal, QC) – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the World Customs Organization (WCO) that will give a significant boost to the fight against doping in sport. The MOU was signed at the WCO’s Brussels headquarters on Friday, June 24 and will foster co-operation in activities of common interest in the areas of anti-doping and the trafficking of doping substances within the organizations’ respective mandates.

It will include co-operation in the collection, storage and exchange of information, the setting up of information sessions and seminars, and cross-organization alerts on trends observed in the areas of anti-doping and the trafficking of doping substances.

The MOU further supports the national and international anti-doping measures referred to in the UNESCO ‘International Convention against Doping in Sport’, which to date has been ratified by 159 member states.

“This MOU is a significant development for WADA as it will enable the agency to increase intelligence on upstream perpetrators involved in doping activities, the illegal organizations and individuals that provide doping substances to the sporting world,” said WADA Director General David Howman.

“We are grateful to the WCO for their commitment to the fight against doping in sport. The partnership sends out another very clear message that there is strong unity amongst agencies across the world to eradicate all forms of doping – not just for the sake of sport, but for the health and well being of society as a whole.”

The partnership will also encourage the implementation of relevant legislation in all WCO member countries to enable customs officers to fight against the trafficking of doping substances.

“The WCO is committed to working with its international partners to combat all forms of illicit trade, including the trade in illegal, counterfeit and unlicensed pharmaceutical products,” said WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya.

“This MOU will facilitate relations between WADA and the WCO, provide us with a concrete basis for further cooperation, contribute to a healthier and safer international sporting environment, and encourage Customs administrations in meeting one of their core aims, namely, the protection of society.”

May 14, 2011 – The WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board will meet on 14-15th May 2011 in Montreal (CAN) including participation by FIS President Gian Franco Kasper who is member of the WADA Executive Committee.

Some of the agenda items will include an update on the so-called Compliance Report and a review of the implementation of Code-compliant programs. Moreover, an update is due related to the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), its purpose as a successful means for effective target testing, and the need for ABPs to be incorporated into ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration and Management System). Finally, an update on the Regional Anti-Doping Organizations’ activities will be presented given their increasingly important role.

May 13, 2011 (Ottawa, ON) – In 2010, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport underwent a strategic planning process to uncover and craft the story of its vision and mission. Once that story was articulated verbally, it was necessary to bring it to life visually, with the creation of a new brand identity for the organization.

The logo at the centre of this new brand identity celebrates the multitude of voices that come together around sport, capturing the energy of open dialogue and spirited debate. The use of different colours and type sizes reflects the multicultural landscape of Canada and the rich diversity of athletes that play and compete within it. Still, despite their differences, these various graphic elements fit harmoniously together to form the logo as a whole, conveying the convergence of opinions and ideas that results from honest discourse.

CCES Logo
Finally, the use of the organization’s full name – instead of the CCES acronym – conveys the leadership and authority that people expect from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, as it looks to continually elevate the conscience of Canadian sport.

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is an independent, national, not-for profit organization. We recognize that true sport can make a great difference for individuals, communities and our country. We are committed to working collaboratively to activate a values based and principle-driven sport system; protecting the integrity of sport from the negative forces of doping and other unethical threats; and advocating for sport that is fair, safe and open to everyone.

May 10, 2011 – The defense team for Andru Veerpalu, the Olympic medal winning cross country skier who tested positive for HGH and retired suddenly on the eve of the 2011 World Championships in Oslo, requested an extension that has been granted by FIS in order to prepare their case, reported ERR News. Veerpalu’s defense stated the 10-day extension will be sufficient. The new deadline is now May 20. This extension does not change Veerpalu’s hearing date on June 5.

Read the ERR News article HERE.

April 29, 2011 – Andrus Veerpalu (EST), the two-time Olympic gold medal winner who retired from competitive cross-country skiing on the eve of this year’s World Championships in Oslo, recently tested positive for Human Growth Hormone – both his A and B sample – and is now slated to appear at a FIS Anti-Doping hearing on June 5, according to ERR News.

Veerpalu is expected to dispute his positive test findings for HGH. In order to do so, he must submit his explanations and scientific defense material by May 10. Veerpalu is strongly backed by the Estonian Skiing Association.

Read the full story HERE.

April 15, 2011 – Mati Alaver, Estonian Ski Team coach, has refused to accept the job of Russian Ski Team Coach offered by the Russian Ski Federation according to ERR News. Alaver states that his priority is to help prove that Estonian skier Andrus Veerpalu is not guilty of doping despite his B Sample positive test for HGH on April 6.

The Estonian coach added that if Veerpalu is cleared, he will continue his position with the Estonian Team. But Russian Ski Federation President, Yelena Vyalbe, is trying to recruit Alavar, who coached Veerpalu a 2x Olympic and 2x World Champion, along with world championship bronze medalist, Jaak Mae.

Vyalbe, a former cross-country skier herself, with three Olympic gold medals to her name, maintains her confidence in Veerpalu’s innocence and Alavar’s integrity as a coach.

Read the ERR News articles HERE and HERE.
Read previous coverage about the Veerpalu case HERE and HERE.

April 08, 2011 – Andrus Veerpalu’s B Sample has tested positive for Human Growth Hormone, finally confirming the rumours of alleged doping that first began to circulate about the Estonian when he retired from the sport on the eve of the Oslo 2011 Nordic World Championships, according to ERR News.

The announcement was made by the Estonian Ski Association yesterday. At the press conference, the two-time Olympic Champion maintained his innocence and denied knowingly taking any banned substances.

Read the article HERE.

January 11, 2011 – The Russian Ski Federation confirmed today that cross-country skier Nikolay Pankratov has received a two-year ban from competition after he was caught with blood doping equipment on the Austrian-Swiss border in September – read more here – thus violating the FIS anti-doping code, reports Reuters.

The 28-year-old was a member of the silver medal winning 4x10km Russian relay squad at the 2007 World Championships and he also competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

In light of the long history of doping problems faced by the sport in Russia, along with the fact that the next Winter Olympic Games are taking place in Russia, FIS recommended that the country establish a new governing body for the sport and develop a clean ski team.

Read the full story HERE.