Vienna
The International Olympic Committee last week slapped a rare lifetime ban on six Austrian athletes. The six men, four cross-country skiers and two biathletes, were caught with blood-doping substances in an Italian police raid on their living quarters at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. The IOC said the athletes engaged in a conspiracy to dope and to cover for each other. The Austrian Ski Federation is protesting the punishment. The group’s lawyer, Karl Heinz Klee, said the athletes “never committed a doping offense,” and that even if they had, the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code calls for only a two-year ban for first-time offenders. But banned biathlete Wolfgang Rottmann said he welcomed the action. “I don’t want to have anything to do with the Olympics after the treatment in Turin,” he said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The week's best photosIn Pictures The Tour de France on horseback, a watery wedding, and more
-
Scientists are developing artificial blood for use in emergenciesUnder the radar It could aid in global blood shortages
-
The Week Unwrapped: Are electric bikes 'invading' London?Podcast Plus, why is Volodymyr Zelenskyy opposing anti-corruption laws? And how will US withdrawal affect Unesco?
