Kaisa Varis

Last updated
Kaisa Varis
CountryFlag of Finland.svg  Finland
Born (1975-09-21) 21 September 1975 (age 48)
Ilomantsi, Finland
Ski clubJoensuun Hiihtoveikot
World Cup career
Seasons10 – (19962003, 20052006)
Individual wins2
Team wins2
Indiv. podiums9
Team podiums3
Indiv. starts54
Team starts11
Overall titles0 – (8th in 2000)
Discipline titles0
Medal record
Representing Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
Women's cross-country skiing
World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2001 Lahti 15 km classical
Disqualified 2003 Val di Fiemme 4 × 5 km relay
Disqualified 2001 Lahti 4 × 5 km relay [1]

Kaisa Varis (born 21 September 1975, in Ilomantsi) is a Finnish retired cross-country skier and biathlete. Her career has been marred by doping convictions: as a cross-country skier, she was involved but not suspended in a doping scandal and in 2003 she was suspended two years for doping use. After her suspension, she returned as a biathlete in 2007, but in 2008 she received a lifetime ban from all International Biathlon Union (IBU) competitions after another positive doping test. However, her lifetime ban was overturned in March 2009 because the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the IBU failed to adhere to correct testing procedures; she remains eligible to compete in biathlon.

Contents

Career

Cross-country skiing

In cross-country skiing, Varis competed from 1995 to 2006. Her biggest success was the win of the bronze medal in the 15 km at the 2001 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, but she is better known for her doping controversies at those championships: Varis was part of the 4 × 5 km relay that was disqualified when fellow skiers Virpi Kuitunen and Milla Jauho were disqualified for taking hydroxyethyl starch, a banned blood plasma expander. Varis was originally implicated, but later was cleared in this scandal. [2]

Varis's best individual finish at the Winter Olympics was fourth in the 15 km at Salt Lake City in 2002. She also has ten individual career victories at various distances from 1998 to 2002.

Two years after the first doping incident, at the 2003 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, she was suspended for five days before the event's start due to a high hemoglobin count, though was allowed to compete when a second test came back five days later with a lower count. Varis attended the 30 km event, but was later disqualified for taking EPO, an endurance-enhancing drug, and served a two-year suspension as a result. [3] [4]

Though she qualified, she did not compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, because she was excluded by Finland's Olympic committee. [5]

Biathlon

Varis switched from cross-country skiing to biathlon and made her debut in the Biathlon World Cup on March 2, 2007, in Lahti, Finland, by finishing 70th in the 7.5 km sprint race. On November 30, 2007, she finished fifth in the 7.5 km sprint event in Kontiolahti. On January 11, 2008, Varis scored her first victory in a biathlon World Cup race in the 7.5 km sprint event in Ruhpolding, Germany, [5] but it was later voided because of her positive doping test.

On January 24, 2008, it was made public that at least the A sample from a test for prohibited substances on January 6 had again tested positive for EPO. Varis denied any doping. [6] However, on January 31, 2008, the IBU announced, that the B sample confirmed the results; due to this case, the Finnish Biathlon Association did not register Varis for the 2008 World Championships. [7] Despite her first ban coming as a cross-country skier, she was considered a repeat offender by the IBU Executive Board and banned from the sport for life on February 11, 2008. [8] [9]

In March 2008 she announced her intention to appeal to overturn the ban. [10] In March 2009, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the International Biathlon Union had violated Varis' rights under the World Anti-Doping Agency's code by refusing to allow her or a representative to be present when her backup sample was opened for testing. Because of that, her backup sample could not be used as evidence against her, and her ban was overturned. [11]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS). [12]

Olympic Games

 Year  Age  10 km  15 km  Pursuit  30 km  Sprint  4 × 5 km 
 relay 
2002 26 4 12 23 7

World Championships

 Year  Age  5 km  10 km  15 km  Pursuit  30 km  Sprint  4 × 5 km 
 relay 
1999 2344
2001 257Bronze6CNX [a] DSQ
2003 27DNSDSQDSQ
a. 1 Cancelled due to extremely cold weather.

World Cup

Season standings

 Season  Age Season standings
OverallDistanceLong DistanceMiddle DistanceSprint
1996 20NC
1997 21NCNC
1998 227145
1999 23344825
2000 2484825
2001 2512
2002 262573
2003 2726
2005 29NCNC
2006 307053

Individual podiums

  • 2 victories
  • 9 podiums
No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlace
1 1999–00 8 January 2000 Flag of Russia.svg Moscow, Russia15 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
23 March 2000 Flag of Finland.svg Lahti, Finland1.2 km Sprint FWorld Cup3rd
311 March 2000 Flag of Norway.svg Oslo, Norway30 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
417 March 2000 Flag of Italy.svg Bormio, Italy5 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
518 March 2000 Flag of Italy.svg Bormio, Italy10 km Pursuit FWorld Cup3rd
6 2000–01 25 November 2000 Flag of Norway.svg Beitostølen, Norway10 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
729 November 2000 Flag of Norway.svg Beitostølen, Norway5 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
8 2002–03 12 January 2003 Flag of Estonia.svg Otepää, Estonia15 km Mass Start CWorld Cup3rd
925 January 2003 Flag of Germany.svg Oberhof, Germany10 km Mass Start CWorld Cup3rd

Team podiums

  • 2 victories
  • 3 podiums
No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlaceTeammates
1 2000–01 25 November 2000 Flag of Norway.svg Beitostølen, Norway4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup1st Manninen / Jauho / Kuitunen
2 2002–03 19 January 2003 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Nové Město, Czech Republic4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup3rd Välimaa / Saarinen / Hietamäki-Pienimäki
3 2005–06 15 January 2005 Flag of Italy.svg Val di Fiemme, Italy4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup1st Saarinen / Kuitunen / Roponen

See also

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References

  1. Teammates Milla Jauho and Virpi Kuitunen tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and the team was disqualified.
  2. Pettersson, Tomas (2008-01-25). "Nu får Finland än en gång leva med skammen". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  3. "Finnish skier fails drugs test". BBC News. 2003-03-14.
  4. Zinser, Lynn; Macur, Juliet (2006-02-11). "Pomp and Unsettling Circumstances Open Games". New York Times.
  5. 1 2 "Kaisa Varis of Finland, banned twice for doping, wins first biathlon World Cup event". International Herald Tribune. 2008-01-11.
  6. "Finnish biathlete Kaisa Varis tested positive for doping in World Cup event". International Herald Tribune. 2008-01-24.
  7. "Establishment of Adverse Analytical Finding in the Case of Ms Kaisa Varis/Finland" (Press release). International Biathlon Union. 2008-01-30. Archived from the original on 2008-02-03.
  8. "Biathlete Varis faces life ban threat". CNN. 2008-01-31.[ dead link ]
  9. "Case Kaisa Varis" (Press release). International Biathlon Union. 2008-02-11. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16.
  10. "Doper Lodges Appeal". Eurosport. 2008-03-18.
  11. Finnish Biathlete Avoids Lifetime Ban SI.com, March 15, 2009
  12. "VARIS Kaisa". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 21 December 2019.