9 People have been arrested in doping raids in Austria and Germany during the Nordic Skiing World Championships.
Among those detained were five elite skiers and a doctor when Austrian and German police carried out a series of raids that were part of a wider police operation targeting criminals from several European countries. WADA’s Intelligence and Investigations Department had been cooperating with the authorities during the course of the operation.
Austrian Federal Police said one athlete was “caught in the act…He was picked up with a blood transfusion in his arm.” The investigation began after a documentary, “Doping Top Secret: Confession, Inside the mind of a doper”, was released in which Austrian skier Johannes Dürr confessed he often had his blood manipulated in Germany.
The police confirmed the investigation was formed around a “German based criminal organisation, that is strongly suspected of having been doping top athletes for years to increase their performance in domestic and international competitions, thereby gaining illegal revenues.”
It is not the first time the sport has come across a doping scandal. During the 2006 Turin Games, six Austrian athletes were banned from the Olympics for life after being found with banned substances.