It has been almost six years since Norwegian cross-country star Therese Johaug tested positive for doping. Now the Norwegian opens up about the shock announcement.
– I have experienced the worst, she says.
Six months ago, after the Olympics in Beijing, Therese Johaug announced that she will end her career after the season. In mid-March, the Norwegian then took a tearful farewell and leaves cross-country skiing as one of the sport’s foremost.
Now opening up
There is, however, a wet blanket over Therese Johaug’s career. In September 2016, she tested positive for doping and was suspended for 18 months. As a result of the verdict, the Norwegian missed the WC 2017 and the Olympics 2018, among other things.
Now Therese Johaug tells about the day she received that message.
– The body stiffened, but the panic didn’t really grab me right away. My first thought was that this was a misunderstanding. They must have sent the wrong message to the wrong person, she says according to SVT Sport.
The star got the message when she was about to pick up the phone and write to her boyfriend. It said that a urine sample she provided on September 16 contained Klostebol, which is a prohibited preparation.
“Experienced the worst”
– When I met my own gaze, the howl came. I just stood there frozen with fear and stared at myself in the mirror and screamed, says Therese Johaug and continues:
– I have experienced the greatest thing an athlete can achieve, but also the worst.
The Norwegian claimed to have ingested the preparation by using a cream on a sunburned lip during a training camp in Italy. She has always claimed that she did not know that the cream contained Klostebol.
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