Norwegian skiing influencers are wondering about the return of Jarmo Riski, who was banned from competition in 2001 due to a doping scandal.
Appointed sport coordinator of the Finnish Ski Federation Jarmo Riskin the return has sparked discussion among Norwegian skiing influencers.
Manager of the Norwegian cross country team Espen Bjervig and former manager Vidar Løfshus are wondering in the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet’s news Naming Riski for the national team.
Bjervig found out about it from Dagbladet and was confused by what he heard. Bjervig was appointed to lead the Norwegian national skiing team in 2019 when Løfshus left his position.
– All of a sudden, I think this sounds really strange, and not good at all. I don’t know his role in the Finnish Ski Federation or the situation of his suspension, so it would be wrong to draw my own conclusions about the case before I know more, Bjervig said.
Løfshus was in charge of the Norwegian national team for a total of eight years. He left his position in the spring of 2019 and worked for the Finnish Ski Federation since 2006. He does not like the news of the Finnish Ski Federation.
– I think it’s bad for the sport’s reputation when things like this come up, Løfshus said to a Norwegian newspaper.
Executive Director of the Finnish Ski Federation Ismo Hämäläinen opened up to Dagbladet about Riski’s return and justified it by canceling the trustee ban.
– Many things have changed since 2001, Hämäläinen said.
The return of Jarmo Riski, the former coach of the Finnish national skiing team, to the national team was announced at the beginning of August. Experienced Riski worked as a national team coach in 1998–2001.
Riski was the coach of the women’s cross country team at the time of the 2001 Lahti doping scandal, after which he was fired. Riski was banned for life from both the Finnish National and the International Ski Federation.
The Finnish Ski Federation overturned Risk’s agent ban in 2004 and the International Ski Federation in 2015.