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 were stripped of all their medals from the 2002 Games.
Johann Mühlegg is a former top level cross-country skier who competed in international competitions first representing Germany and then Spain, after becoming a Spanish citizen in 1999. He was excluded and disqualified from the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City for doping.
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Nagano 1998, was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the nearby mountain communities of Hakuba, Karuizawa, Nozawa Onsen, and Yamanouchi. The city of Nagano had previously been a candidate to host the 1940 Winter Olympics, as well as the 1972 Winter Olympics, but had been eliminated at the national level by Sapporo on both occasions.
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, from February 8 to February 24, 2002. A total of 2,399 athletes from 77 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these Games, competing in 78 events in 15 sports and disciplines.
Bente Skari, née Martinsen, is a Norwegian former cross-country skier. She is one of the most successful cross-country skiers ever.
Larisa Yevgenyevna Lazutina is a Russian former professional cross-country skier.
Olga Valeryevna Danilova is a Russian cross-country skier who competed from 1991 until she was banned for using performance-enhancing drugs in 2002.
Yulia Anatolyevna Chepalova is a former Russian cross-country skier.
Alexey Alexeyevich Prokurorov was a Soviet/Russian cross-country skier who competed in the late 1980s and 1990s for both the Soviet Union and Russia.
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2001 took place February 15–25, 2001 in Lahti, Finland for a record sixth time, previous events being held in 1926, 1938, 1958, 1978 and 1989. These championships also saw the most event changes since the 1950s with the 5 km women and 10 km men's events being discontinued, the 10 km women and 15 km men's events return to their normal status for the first time since the 1991 championships, the debut of a combined pursuit as a separate category, the addition of the individual sprint race for both genders, and the debut of the ski jumping team normal hill event. Extremely cold weather cancelled the women's 30 km event. The biggest controversy occurred when a doping scandal hit the host nation of Finland, resulting in six disqualifications. This would serve as a prelude to further doping cases in cross country skiing at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City the following year.
The men's 4 × 10 kilometre relay cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, was held on 19 February at Pragelato.
The Women's 10 kilometre classical cross-country skiing competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy was held on 16 February, at Pragelato.
The women's 4 × 5 kilometre relay cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States, was held on 19 February at Soldier Hollow.
The Women's 15 kilometre freestyle mass start cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States, was held on 9 February at Soldier Hollow.
The Women's 30 kilometre classical interval start cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States, was held on 24 February at Soldier Hollow. This was the final women's event of the 2002 Olympics cross-country program.
The 2 × 5 kilometre pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States, was held on 24 February at Soldier Hollow.
The women's 10 kilometre freestyle pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, was held on 10 February at Snow Harp.
The women's 4 × 5 kilometre relay cross-country skiing competition at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, was held on 16 February at Snow Harp.
