Cross-country skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics

The cross-country skiing events at the 2002 Winter Olympics were marred by drug problems. The winners of three races were disqualified after blood tests showed that three skiers had overly high red blood cell counts indicating the use of darbepoetin, a drug used to treat anemia. At the time, the drug was not specifically listed in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) list of banned substances, but the Olympic rules generally prohibit doping of any kind, in accordance with its charter. After two years and several lawsuits in Olympic and Swiss courts, the skiers in question (Johann Mühlegg of Spain, and Larissa Lazutina and Olga Danilova of Russia) were stripped of all their medals from the 2002 Games.[1]

Cross-country skiing at the XIX Olympic Winter Games
Olympic Cross-country skiing athletes compete at Soldier Hollow
Venue	Soldier Hollow
Date	February 9-February 23
No. of events	12
Competitors	260 (153 men and 107 women) from 44 nations

Cross-country skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Distance
10 km		women
15 km	men	women
Pursuit	men	women
30 km	men	women
50 km	men
Relay	men	women
Sprint
Sprint	men	women

Athletes compete at Soldier Hollow on February 14, 2002.

A Russian commemorative coin depicting Cross-country skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

See the external links below for the official IOC press releases containing detailed information of the doping cases and their resolution, including initial, intermediate, and final amended results. This article gives the final medalists as decided on by the IOC in early 2004.