Austria charges skier, coach in case linked to doping ring

Austria charges skier, coach in case linked to doping ring

Published Jan. 22, 2020 10:55 a.m. ET

INNSBRUCK, Austria (AP) — Austrian prosecutors have charged a cross-country ski coach and a skier in connection with a crackdown on a blood doping ring.

Prosecutors in the city of Innsbruck said Wednesday they charged coach Gerald Heigl, a former coach with the Austrian ski federation, with sports fraud and violating an anti-doping law. He is accused of supplying a skier with growth hormone and having approved blood doping treatments for two others.

Also charged is a former skier, identified by prosecutors only as Harald W. He is accused of providing a specialized refrigerator which was used to store blood for doping purposes and faces charges of providing false evidence.

The cases stem from an international investigation into a blood doping ring allegedly operated from Germany which treated cross-country skiers, cyclists and competitors in other sports.

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No hearing date has been set.

Since police raids during the world Nordic ski championships last year, at least five skiers and six cyclists have been banned from competing.

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