“The Olympic season will see FIS continuing its fight against the use of doping. We will do this with all our means and across all disciplines. The recent cases are a good example that our programs and procedures are effective,” commented FIS President Gian Franco Kasper.
The overall investment by FIS in its Anti-Doping program during the 2009-10 season amounts to approximately CHF 1.5 million. This includes both the in- and out-of-competition testing programs and various preventive, informational and educational efforts.
As mandated by the World Anti-Doping Code, the FIS will continue its main focus via no-notice, out-of-competition target tests. In addition to regular EPO urine tests, CERA blood testing has been included.
The International Testing Pool of FIS currently consists of 486 athletes in the six FIS disciplines. May 1 to Nov. 25, FIS has conducted the following number of out-of-competition tests, including: 23 urine tests and one blood test in alpine; 136 urine tests (all including EPO analysis), 228 blood tests and 55 blood tests for CERA analysis in cross country; 14 Urine tests (all including EPO analysis) 17 blood tests and four blood tests for CERA analysis in nordic combined; and two urine tests in snowboarding. In addition, during the same time period, WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency) has conducted additional out-of-competition tests along with more conducted by the National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) under their responsibility.
"Knock knock knock," U.S. alpine ski racer Steven Nyman wrote to his Twitter account in early October. "6 a.m. USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) at the door. I peed fantastically well."
FIS also conducts in-competition testing at selected FIS World Cup events. Additionally, in-competition testing is coordinated with many NADOs and in-competition testing is carried out by NADOs at a number of FIS World Cup events. So far, FIS in-competition testing took place at: Sölden, Austria alpine racing (12 urine tests); a nordic combined stop at Hinterzarten, Germany (six urine tests, all including EPO analysis); ski jumping at Hinterzarten (six urine tests); and in snowboarding in the Netherlands at Landgraaf (14 urine tests) and also at Stockholm, Sweden (six urine tests).
FIS has been monitoring the development of various biological parameters among its athletes within the International Testing Pool since the establishment of the FIS Blood Profiling Program beginning with the 2001-02 season. The FIS Blood Profiling Program serves to help detect blood doping as provided for in Article 5.3.1 of the FIS Anti-Doping Rules. Athletes with aberrant variations in key hematologic values are excluded from competition according to the criteria under article FIS.B.5 of the rules. In addition to the five-day start prohibition for elevated haemoglobin concentrations of equal to or exceeding 17.0 for men and 16.0 for ladies, a 14-day start prohibition was introduced in the rules during the 2008-09 season for an athlete showing an abnormal haemoglobin z-score, off-score model or Bayesian model.
In practice, FIS already has the so-called Athlete Passport program in place. The fundamental principle of such a program is based on monitoring an athlete’s biological parameters to detect abnormal variations that indirectly reveal the effects of doping, as opposed to the traditional, direct detection of doping.
When the regulations for the WADA Athlete Blood Passport are introduced, these will be integrated into the FIS Blood Profiling Program which will only entail minor changes to the current practice. The FIS Doping Panel has recently rendered its decision on two cases. The Panel found that Russian Cross-Country skiers Nina Rysina and Evgeni Dementiev have committed an anti-doping rule violation contrary to article 2.1 of the FIS Anti-Doping Rules. Rysina tested positive for the use of the prohibited substance recombinant EPO, identified on the WADA Prohibited List 2009 in Class S2 Hormone and Related Substances, during an out-of-competition doping control on Jan. 27, 2009 in Praz de Lys Sommand, France. Dementiev also tested positive for the use of EPO during an out-of-competition doping control on Jan. 2, 2009 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
In both cases, the period of ineligibility commences as from the date of the hearing decision, Nov. 13, 2009, with credit given from Aug. 12, 2009 until Nov. 13, 2009 pursuant to article 10.9.3, for the period of the provisional suspension. Consequently, the athletes are ineligible to participate in any capacity in an event or activity authorized or organized by FIS or any National Ski Association until Aug. 12, 2011. In accordance with article 10.8, all competitive results obtained from the date that the positive samples were obtained are disqualified, along with the forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.
This means that Rysina, who won the gold medal in the U-23 FIS World Cross-Country Championship race on Feb. 1, 2009 in Praz de Lys Sommand has been asked to return her medal. In the case of Dementiev the Russian Ski Federation gave official notice of retirement on behalf of the athlete on Sept. 2.
Ineligibility, defined in article 10.10 of the FIS Anti-Doping Rules, means that in addition to ineligibility from competitions, an athlete cannot participate in a training camp, exhibition or practice organized by his or her National Ski Association or a club which is a member of that National Ski Association. If an athlete violates this ineligibility status, the period of ineligibility which was originally imposed shall start over again as of the date of the violation.
In this respect, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), based on an appeal of the athlete and the Czech Ski Association, recently confirmed a decision rendered by the FIS Doping Panel in the case of Ondrej Horyna of the Czech Republic, prolonging the period of ineligibility from Apr. 1, 2009 to Apr. 10, 2010 because of taking part in a team training, as well as sanctioning the National Ski Association of the Czech Republic for not taking effective measures.
