Kazakhe Alexey Poltaranin (in the foreground). - RONI REKOMAA / LEHTIKUVA / AFP

Three cross-country skiers have been suspended for four years for doping in the “Aderlass” affair (the discovery for a year of a vast blood doping network) announced the International Ski Federation (FIS).

They are Kazakhe Alexey Poltaranin (12 World Cup victories and two bronze medals at the 2013 Worlds) and Estonians Karel Tammjärv and Andreas Veerpalu. An Estonian coach, Martin Alaver, was also suspended. The four men have three weeks to appeal.

VIDEO. Austrian cross-country skipper caught in the act of blood transfusion https://t.co/qTrkGJvKW9

- 20 Minutes (@ 20Minutes) March 1, 2019

The bleeding

The Aderlass case ("bloodletting" in German) had erupted spectacularly in February 2019 with a phone call by the Austrian police on the sidelines of the World Cross Country Skiing Championships in Seefeld, notably arresting a skier in the middle of a transfusion in his room 'hotel. Investigators had revealed the existence of a large doping network organized around the German doctor Mark Schmidt, arrested the same day at his office in Erfurt (Germany).

The network concerns cross-country skiers, including the Austrians Dominik Baldauf and Max Hauke, already convicted, but also active cyclists: the Austrians Stefan Denifl and Georg Preidler, the Slovenian Kristijan Koren and the Croatian Kristjan Durasek are currently suspended. According to their last communication in December, the German investigators consider that 23 sportsmen from eight European countries are concerned. Austrian police, which participated in the investigation, had reported 30 cases.

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  • doping
  • Sport
  • Cross-country skiing