2002 / Case №4: “The Blood Tribunal”. The Larisa Lazutina and Olga Danilova Case.
Published on: 28 September 2016
One of the most scandalous and tragic episodes of the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City in 2002 was excluding of the Russian skier, Larisa Lazutina, from participation in the competitions and further cancellation of the skiing race results of Larisa Lazutina and Olga Danilova. Lazutina and Danilova were disqualified by the IOC after the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City for doping. An increased Hb level which (a critical indicator for admission to competitions) was detected. Specialists maintain that the Hb level increases, more or less, in many people in the mountainous area where the Olympic Games took place. So, the increased Hb level could be a natural reaction of the body to the mountainous area. Many ambiguities in the actions of the International Olympic Committee arose in the course of the investigation. Numerous violations of the rules of samples transportation were detected. Such numerous violations were sufficient to cancel the test results. However, the International Council of Arbitration for Sport has ignored these facts for cramp reasons.