The doping cases in skiing easily remind Finns of the events in Lahti in 2001. Ismo Hämäläinen, Executive Director of the Finnish Ski Association, hopes that Ari Luusua’s doping cart will not affect the reputation of Finnish skiing.
Former national team level skier Ari Luusuan The doping cart was also nasty news for the Finnish Ski Association.
– These are always unfortunate cases, neither skiing nor sports can withstand these, the Executive Director of the Ski Association Ismo Hämäläinen stated.
Luusua was given a sample containing prohibited substances on July 20, 2021. The Finnish Sports Ethics Center (Suek) said that a metabolite of drostanolone and meldonium were found in Luusua’s doping sample. A few years ago, a large number of Russian athletes, including a tennis star, were caught in a meldonium for heart disease. Maria Sharapova.
The Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee issued its decision on the case on March 1, 2022. Luusua appealed the decision to the Sports Judicial Security Committee. He based his complaint on the fact that he had already ended his career at the time of testing in July 2021. He told the public about his termination in September.
However, Luusua had a valid two-year athlete contract with a member of the Swedish Ski Association at the time of testing. The Sports Legal Protection Board considered that he could also have been subject to the FIS Anti-Doping Code and therefore Luusua’s complaint was rejected.
Sport did not reach Luusua to comment.
“I believe and hope this does not negatively affect”
The Finnish sports audience was quite traumatized by the doping carts at the Lahti World Championships in 2001, when doping caught on. Jari Isometsä, Mika Myllylä, Harri Kirvesniemi, Janne Immonen, Milla Flour and Virpi Kuitunen.
New cases bring those times to mind and may cause new collapses to the reputation of Finnish skiing. Hämäläinen hopes that this will not happen now.
– Suek works very well and we cooperate on a broad front proactively. It has significant implications for the whole. I believe and hope that this will not have a negative effect.
Its own question is how the sponsors of the Ski Association react to the incident.
– It is difficult to start assessing how partners react. We have been in contact with our partners today when we have the information. It is hoped that this will not be seen as a bigger thing than this, Hämäläinen said.