– It’s a bit of a shock. It’s very boring and sad that there would be another case like that. There have been a few cases now.
Therese Johaug says this to NRK the day after it was announced that Germany’s Olympic gold medalist Victoria Carl tested positive for doping.
The recently retired skier tested positive for the banned substance Clostebol in the fall of 2016 and was banned for 18 months. She therefore missed the 2018 Olympics.
The test Carl tested positive for, called Clenbuterol, was taken out of competition in Andermatt, Switzerland. She was then part of the German military national team, the German Ski Federation said in a press release.
– Exactly the same setting
According to the German Ski Federation, the substance was an ingredient in a cough syrup Carl was prescribed by a doctor.
– From the insight I have into the matter in the media, it seems completely similar with exactly the same setting. With an acute illness and a doctor who is supposed to fix it. It is clearly the athletes’ responsibility, emphasizes Johaug.
TEARS: This is what it looked like when Therese Johaug went to a press conference
In a statement, Carl described it as follows:
– I was sick, had severe coughing fits and took the medicine on doctor’s orders. I was not aware that it contained a prohibited substance. I truly hope that the circumstances will be understood and assessed fairly.
No medical exemption for its use has been applied for.
TOOK GOLD: Katharina Hennig and Victoria Carl took Olympic gold in the team sprint in 2022.
Clenbuterol is listed as a prohibited anabolic substance by the international anti-doping agency WADA, as is the drug Clostebol, which Johaug tested positive for. The drug may have an effect on increasing muscle mass and endurance.
Clenbuterol is the same substance for which cycling star Alberto Contador was banned for two years in 2012. He was then stripped of his overall victory in the 2010 Tour de France and his Giro d’Italia victory in 2011.
Know how challenging it can be
– I think it’s very boring and sad for Victoria. It seems very similar to the case I was in, so I know what it means, says Johaug, who clarifies that she hasn’t looked into everything.
Johaug first spoke to TV 2.
– I know how challenging it will be, says Johaug.
Johaug’s manager Jørn Ernst remembers how the ski queen was affected by all the attention when things were boiling around her.
– What we did was try to be open about everything and stand by it. To answer as best as possible to both the media and others. That’s what we decided early on.