June 09, 2011 (Finland) – On Wednesday, Dr. Pekka Koponen, a Finnish specialist in general medicine, commented on the Finnish TV program Nelonen Uutiset that he acquired EPO for Isometsa in 1998-2000 from the Kemi University Hospital and from the Old Pharmacy in Haparanda, just across the border in Sweden reports the Helsingin Sanomat International Edition. Isometsa is alleged to have paid cash for the hormones.

Dr. Koponen stated, “I know Isometsa and I know when the truth is being told and when it isn’t. It bothers me that he supplied false information in court.”

Isometsa testified on Tuesday that he never used EPO or any other banned doping products. According to Isometsa the blood plasma expanders that he was caught with in 2001 at the Nordic World Championships in Lahti were not banned substances at the time.

Dr. Koponen refuted this testimony claiming that, “Isometsa repeatedly used EPO”, and admitted that he was the one who supplied him with the hormone.

Dr. Koponen claims that Isometsa gave him a note and cash to buy the EPO and waited, hiding in a car while Dr. Koponen went into Kemi University Hospital, wrote the prescription and received the EPO. He said it was very easy and that noone questioned what the hormones were to be used for. He said that Isometsa wanted the strongest possible 10,000 unit dosage that is normally used to treat kidney patients.

It was the same in Haparanda at the Old Pharmacy. The only difference, said Dr. Koponen, was that it was much cheaper in Sweden, only 6,000 Finnish marks vs. 11,000 in Finland. He went on to say that Isometsa always paid in cash and that he was under the impression that Isometsa had lots of money.

Final statements in the STT trial that were supposed to begin on Thursday have now been cancelled at the prosecutor’s request. The prosecutor, Mikko Jaatinen now wants Dr. Koponen to appear as a witness.

As well, the Finnish police are now investigating Isometsa for the possibility that he committed the crime of issuing a false statement under oath in court. Isometsa could face up to six years in prison if found guilty of deliberately lying and was unavailable for comment on Wednesday about these allegations.

This doping fiasco continues to get more interesting and this could be the “smoking gun” for Isometsa. Dr. Koponen has nothing to gain and everything to lose by coming out with this information and accusations. I don’t know the laws in Finland but in North America he would likely lose his licence to practice medicine for admitting that he supplied doping products to athletes. At the very least, he is going to lose a lot of credibility as a doctor.

As Marty Hall once characterized the typical doper’s mantra…“If at first you don’t succeed, cheat. Continue until caught, then deny, deny, deny”. That is what appears to be happening here, but finally someone has come forward with what appears to be the truth. It seems likely that the truth will come out in most of the doping cases here as long as at least one credible person has a conscience.

This is still important, eventhough for some it’s old news. I feel sorry for the athletes, coaches, and teams who have had great results stolen from them by others who cheat by doping. I remember being told at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary that when Pierre Harvey placed 14th in the 15km he was on the podium of the non-dopers. I know that Harvey and the whole Canadian team received a lot of criticism for their poor results in those races. One can only wonder what would have happened to all of the non-doping skiers in the 1980s and 1990s if everyone had been clean.

I’m sure that doping continues today in cross-country skiing. Perhaps if these athletes that are doping know that even 10 years later they may be caught they will reconsider and decide not to dope. Maybe, just maybe, it might act as a deterrent.

Stay tuned, there is more to come.

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