WOW! USA at at World Cross Country skiing champs

Kudos to the American squad at Worlds! Kris Freeman 4th 15km classical, Carl Swenson (yes, the guy who races NORBA) 5th in the 50km skating, and best of all Johnny Spilanne GOLD in the Nordic Combined sprint (jumping and skiing). This is huge for the US program. Amazing what happens when the rest of the world has their EPO taken away from them! Go to: www.fis-ski.com for all the results from Italy

its not like the US can be pious and sanctimonious about this…Mary Decker Slaney (Drug cheat and cry baby), Flo Jo etc etc…

Yeah, there are likely drugs in US track and field. But the numbers of positive drug tests in cross country skiing over the last couple years are utterly staggering compared to any other sport, even the usual whipping posts (track, cycling, swimming, etc.). And it’s not just been one team, but athletes from nearly every country that’s a ski power. Heck, they’re even making the Chinese women’s swim teams of the mid-90s look relatively clean and drug free by comparison.

necessary to make those sorts of sanctimonious remarks when the governing bodies of sports in this country will not release the names of the people who failed drug tests.

Its also funny that when making the comments you wont acknowledge the people that have used, let alone those you suspect of using or who have created serious doubts whether they do or dont use…Maurice Green and Marion Jones…guilt by association…

The worst thing about sports is athletes :slight_smile:
Dirtball!!!

I am NOT talking here about Track athletes, I’m talking about cross country skiing…hello. There has NEVER been a US athlete busted in this sport or even suspected for that matter. Meanwhile, many Euros have callously disregarded any testing and it finally caught up to them; at the World’s in '01 in Finland where the entire A team of the host country was thrown out, and then at the Olympics it was a complete drug fest, most of the abusers got away with it because the tests were often delayed or unable to pick up the new EPO alternatives. For example, the Austrians Hoffman and Botvinov (who had already won gold and bronze) left their hotel rooms with blood doping equipment all over the place! When confronted with this reality by the police they said they had the flu! But it was too late to do anything. Same with Johann Muhelleg who was stripped of his last medal of the games but allowed to keep the first two. Meanwhile the Finn’s did nothing in Salt Lake, hmmmm. Sanctimonious is not the issue. The issue is catching the cheaters. If they were Americans, I’d be all for throwing the book at them. But, instead our hard working athletes have had to settle for being outside the top 20 in recent years and it’s widely acknowledged that this is not due to a lack of training! Track and Field, I agree, there is a serious problem there. Let’s get the abusers, American or other!

Congrats. Always amazing when anybody beats Norway.

I’m going x-country skiing tomorow. Not quite as fast as those guys though.