Cross-country skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics
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The Cross-country skiing events at the 2002 Winter Olympics were marred by drug problems. The winners of three races were disqualified after blood tests showed that three skiers had overly high red blood cell counts indicating the use of darbepoetin, a drug used to treat anemia. At the time, the drug was not specifically listed in the IOC's list of banned substances, but the Olympic rules generally prohibit doping of any kind, in accordance with its charter. After two years and several lawsuits in Olympic and Swiss courts, the skiers in question (Johann Mühlegg of Spain, and Larissa Lazutina and Olga Danilova of Russia) were stripped of all their medals from the 2002 Games.
See the external links below for the official IOC press releases containing detailed information of the doping cases and their resolution, including initial, intermediate, and final amended results. This article gives the final medalists as decided on by the IOC in early 2004.
Contents |
[edit] Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Norway (NOR) |
5 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| 2 |  Italy (ITA) |
2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 |  Russia (RUS) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 |  Germany (GER) |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 |  Estonia (EST) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 |  Austria (AUT) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 |  Canada (CAN) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  Czech Republic (CZE) |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 |  Switzerland (SUI) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Sweden (SWE) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
[edit] Men's events
[edit] 20 km (10km + 10km) pursuit
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold |  Thomas Alsgaard (NOR) |
49:48.9 |
| Gold | Frode Estil (NOR) |
49:48.9 |
| Bronze |  Per Elofsson (SWE) |
49:52.9 |
Johann Mühlegg won his second gold of the Games, dominating both parts of the pursuit race. Alsgaard and Estil tied for the silver medal. However, Mühlegg was disqualified by the IOC in February 2004, and so the Norwegians got the gold and Elofsson the bronze.
[edit] 15 km classical
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold |  Andrus Veerpalu (EST) |
37:07.4 |
| Silver | Frode Estil (NOR) |
37:43.4 |
| Bronze | Jaak Mae (EST) |
37:50.8 |
This event marked the first Olympic medals at the Winter Games for Estonia.
[edit] 50 km classical
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold |  Mikhail Ivanov (RUS) |
2:06:20.8 |
| Silver | Andrus Veerpalu (EST) |
2:06:44.5 |
| Bronze | Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset (NOR) |
2:08:41.5 |
First-place finisher Mühlegg was disqualified after blood tests indicated the use of darbepoetin.
[edit] 30 km freestyle mass start
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold |  Christian Hoffmann (AUT) |
1:11:31.0 |
| Silver | Mikhail Botvinov (AUT) |
1:11:32.3 |
| Bronze | Kristen Skjeldal (NOR) |
1:11:42.7 |
Johann Mühlegg won his first and Spain's second ever Olympic winter gold, but was disqualified by the IOC in February 2004. This gave a much delayed Austrian double victory, and a bronze for veteran Skjeldal.
[edit] 1.5 km sprint
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold | Tor Arne Hetland (NOR) |
2:56.9 |
| Silver |  Peter Schlickenrieder (GER) |
2:57.0 |
| Bronze |  Cristian Zorzi (ITA) |
2:57.2 |
[edit] 4 × 10 km relay
| Medal | Team | Time |
| Gold | Norway (Anders Aukland, Frode Estil, Kristen Skjeldal, Thomas Alsgaard) |
1:32:45.5 |
| Silver | Italy (Fabio Maj, Giorgio di Centa, Pietro Piller Cottrer,Cristian Zorzi) |
1:32:45.8 |
| Bronze | Germany (Jens Filbrich, Andreas Schlütter, Tobias Angerer, René Sommerfeldt) |
1:33:34.5 |
In the third straight close Italy-Norway finish, the Norwegians beat Italy, as they did in 1998.
[edit] Women's events
[edit] 10 km (5 km + 5 km) pursuit
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold |  Beckie Scott (CAN) |
25:09.9 |
| Silver |  Kateřina Neumannová (CZE) |
25:10.0 |
| Bronze | Viola Bauer (GER) |
25:11.1 |
Olga Danilova surprisingly beat Larissa Lazutina with Scott taking third in a close finish for Canada's first ever cross-country skiing Olympic medal. When Danilova and Lazutina were stripped of their medals (in 2004 and 2003 respectively), Scott received a belated gold medal and Neumannová and Bauer moved up into medal positions.
[edit] 10 km classical
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold | Bente Skari (NOR) |
28:05.6 |
| Silver | Yuliya Chepalova (RUS) |
28:09.9 |
| Bronze | Stefania Belmondo (ITA) |
28:45.8 |
Bente Skari came from behind to beat the favourite Russians Danilova and Chepalova in the last kilometers. After Danilova was disqualified in the IOC 2004 decision, Chepalova moved up to silver and Belmondo to the bronze medal position.
[edit] 30 km classical
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold | Gabriella Paruzzi (ITA) |
1:30:57.1 |
| Silver | Stefania Belmondo (ITA) |
1:31:01.6 |
| Bronze | Bente Skari (NOR) |
1:31:36.3 |
Russian skiers Lazutina, who finished first, and Danilova, who finished eighth, were disqualified after blood tests indicated the use of darbepoetin.
[edit] 15 km freestyle mass start
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold | Stefania Belmondo (ITA) |
39:54.4 |
| Silver |  Kateřina Neumannová (CZE) |
40:01.3 |
| Bronze | Yuliya Chepalova (RUS) |
40:02.7 |
Lazutina was disqualified in 2003, leading to Neumannová getting the silver and Chepalova the bronze.
[edit] 1.5 km sprint
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold | Yuliya Chepalova (RUS) |
3:10.6 |
| Silver | Evi Sachenbacher (GER) |
3:12.2 |
| Bronze | Anita Moen (NOR) |
3:12.7 |
[edit] 4 × 5 km relay
| Medal | Athlete | Time |
| Gold | Germany (Manuela Henkel, Viola Bauer, Claudia Künzel, Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle) |
49:30.6 |
| Silver | Norway (Marit Bjørgen, Bente Skari, Hilde G. Pedersen, Anita Moen) |
49:31.9 |
| Bronze | Switzerland (Andrea Huber, Laurence Rochat, Brigitte Albrecht Loretan, Natascia Leonardi Cortesi) |
50:03.6 |
The Russian team was not permitted to start after Lazutina's blood tests indicated the use of darbepoetin.
[edit] External links
- IOC (...) annul(s) the results of (...) Lazutina from the (...) Salt Lake City (...) Games (...) – IOC press release, 29 June 2003
- IOC Executive Board disqualifies Muehlegg and Danilova from the Salt Lake City Games – IOC press release, 28 February 2004
| Cross-country skiing at the Winter Olympics |
|---|
| 1924 • 1928 • 1932 • 1936 • 1948 • 1952 • 1956 • 1960 • 1964 • 1968 • 1972 • 1976 • 1980 • 1984 • 1988 • 1992 • 1994 • 1998 • 2002 • 2006 See also: List of Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing (men) and List of Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing (women) |
| Events at the 2002 Winter Olympics (Salt Lake City) |
|---|
| Alpine skiing • Biathlon • Bobsleigh • Cross‑country skiing • Curling • Figure skating • Freestyle skiing • Ice hockey • Luge • Nordic combined • Short track speed skating • Skeleton • Ski jumping • Snowboarding • Speed skating |
en:Cross-country skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics
