"Operation bloodletting"

Olympic cross-country skiing hero on trial as doping helper

Symbol photo(Bild: dpa Patrick Seeger)

The penultimate act surrounding "Operation Bloodletting" at the 2019 Nordic World Ski Championships in Tyrol: an Estonian cross-country skiing legend had to take a seat in front of the Innsbruck regional court.

The video of former cross-country skier Max Hauke, who was surprised by doping hunters with a needle in his arm at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld, Tyrol, shocked more than just the sports world in 2019.

Kazakh (37) with visa problems
Almost six years after the raid, which became known under the euphonious name "Operation Aderlass", the final act in the doping scandal should have taken place on Monday. However, a cross-country skier (37) arrested at the time for blood doping stayed away from the trial in Innsbruck due to visa problems. The Kazakh is currently living in Moscow.

The door to the room was always open and anyone could use it.

Der Angeklagte Andrus Veerpalu

Room made available for blood doping?
Instead, an Estonian cross-country skiing legend took his place in the dock. The now 53-year-old Andrus Veerpalu - two-time Olympic champion and two-time world champion - is said to have made his room available for blood doping in Seefeld, where he was present as a supervisor.

Andrus Veerpalu won two Olympic gold medals and was twice world champion.(Bild: GEPA)

"I didn't really contribute to that. But the door to the room was always open and anyone could use it," justified the former cross-country star, who had also picked up a doping agent for an athlete at a highway service station in Upper Austria in a cloak-and-dagger operation shortly beforehand.

Out-of-court settlement with fine
After consulting with his lawyer, Veerpalu accepted full responsibility and got away with a fine of 700 euros.