Fresh dope scam ahead of Games

Berlin, Feb. 4: More than 50 cross- country skiers set to race at the Winter Olympics, which opens on Friday, have returned suspicious blood data at least once in their careers, according to a report.

The Sunday Times in London and German broadcaster ARD say they received a database of around 10,000 blood tests from 2,000 cross- country skiers taken between 2001 and 2010, before the introduction of biological passports. They report that a total of 290 showed abnormal readings.

The Sunday Times said: “The database was leaked by a whistleblower with serious concerns about the integrity of the Games.

“An analysis of the data by two anti- doping experts concluded that many of the skiers had used two common blood doping techniques — similar to those deployed by the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.”

More than 50 skiers who have qualified for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, reportedly appear in the database with “abnormal” blood samples.

ARD reported that: “46 percent of medals awarded at the Worlds and Olympic Games between 2001 and 2017 — 313 medals — were won by athletes whose values have presented one or more abnormalities.”

Even though the database ends in 2010, ARD says that their calculations include those skiers who won medals in the period 20102017 who had returned suspicious blood samples in previous years.