Rumors have long been associated with the Italian Team and their Dr. Conconi. Plus, the great Manuela DiCenta had a habit of showing up at races only to suddenly get sick or injured when the drug testers were found to be present. Those cases were just speculated though. The Egorova incident in 1997 and the Finnish Team results at the 2001 Worlds were verified. First off, there are no winners when our heroes have been found to be fallible.
Many people wonder if there are any clean athletes left in our sport.
Cross country skiing has been severely harmed by this scandal. Sponsorship dollars, the lifeblood of any modern sport, are in question. Also, what we have long thought to be true, North American athletes are behind even before the races start. On the other hand, at least our skiers now know why they have a tough time competing. Imagine how Norway's Erling Jevne must feel.