It has been a very long time since I've posted anything on the USMS forums but this thread has provided me with an opportunity. In my other life as a cross-country skier, I've had to endure the doping from the Russians at least since the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake. I remember sitting in the stands at Soldier Hollow and listening to the announcement that the Russian women's relay would not be competing. You guessed right - doping was the issue. Then, at Sochi (in Russia) it was completely over the top with the Russian men winning the 50k after a completely non-descript season. For Beckie Scott, the Canadian skier who won bronze in one event in 2002 but was later awarded gold because the two skiers in front of her were Russian, the fight against doping has been ongoing since then.
Anyhow, some of the ski community are trying to do something to interest the public in this issue. Two former Canadian and US national team coaches have concocted a simple questionnaire that they intend to pass along to the IOC after its gross (in)action. The XC ski publications are filled with this stuff but, for those of you who don't enjoy the use of water's other important phase, try looking at Faster Skier (fasterskier.com) for some recent articles. The link to the article with the survey form can be found at
blogs.fasterskier.com/.../
I'm not naive enough that I believe that this simple survey will result in sudden improvements but I do believe that it's time for the common sports fan to speak up. I hope you'll at least have a look at the article and, maybe, fill out the survey.
It has been a very long time since I've posted anything on the USMS forums but this thread has provided me with an opportunity. In my other life as a cross-country skier, I've had to endure the doping from the Russians at least since the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake. I remember sitting in the stands at Soldier Hollow and listening to the announcement that the Russian women's relay would not be competing. You guessed right - doping was the issue. Then, at Sochi (in Russia) it was completely over the top with the Russian men winning the 50k after a completely non-descript season. For Beckie Scott, the Canadian skier who won bronze in one event in 2002 but was later awarded gold because the two skiers in front of her were Russian, the fight against doping has been ongoing since then.
Anyhow, some of the ski community are trying to do something to interest the public in this issue. Two former Canadian and US national team coaches have concocted a simple questionnaire that they intend to pass along to the IOC after its gross (in)action. The XC ski publications are filled with this stuff but, for those of you who don't enjoy the use of water's other important phase, try looking at Faster Skier (fasterskier.com) for some recent articles. The link to the article with the survey form can be found at
blogs.fasterskier.com/.../
I'm not naive enough that I believe that this simple survey will result in sudden improvements but I do believe that it's time for the common sports fan to speak up. I hope you'll at least have a look at the article and, maybe, fill out the survey.
