Timo Seppälä, who did important anti-doping work, has died at the age of 72.
Expert in anti-doping work, docent of pharmacology Timo Seppälä has died, says Suek, the Finnish sports ethics center, in its press release. Seppälä died last Saturday in Helsinki at the age of 72.
Seppälä’s extensive anti-doping work began in the late 1980s. Seppälä worked in all anti-doping organizations, including the Finnish sports ethics center Suek.
Seppälä served as the chairman of the control board dealing with doping violations in 1990-2002. In the years 2002-2017, he served as the medical director of the Finnish Anti-Doping Commission and its successor, Suek.
Seppälä has played a central role in developing Finnish anti-doping activities into one of the best in the world. According to Suek, Seppälä’s personal contribution was decisive when doping offenses were added to Finnish legislation in 2002.
Timo Seppälä was trained as a doctor of medicine and surgery. He spent his actual working career at the Institute of Health and Welfare and the Public Health Institute that preceded it as a laboratory manager and chief physician.
The Ministry of Education and Culture awarded Seppälä a gold cross of merit in 2011. He was awarded a special prize at the 2019 Sports Gala for his work for clean sports.