Eight Cross-Country Skiers Suspended for Five Days

Eight Olympic cross-country skiers, including two Americans and one former gold medalist, were suspended for five days after they were found to have excessive hemoglobin levels -- the first hint of scandal at the Turin Games.

The suspensions, announced Thursday by the International Ski Federation, last five days from the day the tests were administered. The U.S. Ski Assn. said the tests were taken Wednesday, meaning the athletes would be barred from competition until at least Monday.

That would keep the skiers out of the first cross-country events of the Olympics -- the men’s and women’s pursuit on Sunday.

The suspensions mark the possibility of a drug scandal at this year’s Games, where the IOC has said it plans to conduct about 1,200 drug tests. As of Tuesday, more than 100 IOC drug tests had been conducted with no positive results.

The cross-country testing was done by the ski federation, which said it sampled 224 athletes over two days this week.

The federation said in announcing the suspensions that the competition ban is not disciplinary, but taken to “protect the health of the athlete.”

Hemoglobin is the part of a red blood cell that carries oxygen from the lungs to all cells and can increase endurance. Illicit strategies such as the use of synthetic hemoglobin and blood transfusions have been used by some athletes to increase the oxygen in the muscles.

The suspended American athletes are Kikkan Randall, 23, of Anchorage, and Leif Zimmerman, 22, of Bozeman, Mont. The others: Sean Crooks of Canada, Sergey Dolidovich of Belarus, Jean Marc Gaillard of France, Aleksandr Lasutkin of Belarus, Natalia Matveeva of Russia and Evi Sachenbacher of Germany.

Sachenbacher won gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games in the women’s relay and silver in the sprint. She is seventh in World Cup rankings.

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From the Associated Press

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One of the two most famous members of the U.S. ski team publicly rebuked the other when Jeremy Bloom said Bode Miller had “crossed the line” in a “60 Minutes” interview in which Miller told stories of skiing drunk and said the risk of serious injury would not deter him from doing so again.

In the interview, Miller, last season’s World Cup Alpine champion, said, “It’s like driving drunk, only there’s no rules about it.”

Said Bloom, a freestyler specializing in moguls, “I think he really crossed the line when he talked about driving and skiing. He has a lot of kids that look up to him. Sending that type of message is completely wrong.”

Miller later apologized for his comments.

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-- Bill Shaikin

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U.S. men’s figure skaters Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek and Matt Savoie practiced at the Palavela and pronounced themselves pleased with their adjustment to the time difference and the rink conditions.

The practice rink, known as the Palaghiaccio, “is lighter. Everything is white on white,” Savoie said. “The Palavela feels more comfortable.”

Weir said he has had difficulty adjusting to the character of the ice at the Palavela, which will also be the site of the short-track speedskating competition. He fell once while trying a quad.

“I’ve been having trouble with my triple axel because I skid the takeoff and it’s been hard to get down into the ice and actually get back up again,” Weir said.

“Usually I do pretty well with it; right now I’m just a little jet-lagged and tired and I’m starting to feel more comfortable with it.”

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Lysacek says he is attuned to Italian culture. His maternal grandfather, a native of Naples, will be among 29 friends and relatives who will watch him skate next week.

“It’s so exciting,” he said.

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U.S. pair champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin of Santa Monica will skate fourth, and compatriots Marcy Hinzmann and Aaron Parchem of Detroit will skate 10th when the pairs perform their short programs Saturday.

The starting order is determined by a blind draw.

Favorites Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin of Russia drew 19th of the 20 pairs. Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China drew sixth.

“With the new judging system, the starting number isn’t important anymore,” said Oleg Vasiliev, who coaches Totmianina and Marinin. “Before, the judges might have held back marks when you skated early, but not now.”

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The Canadian men’s hockey team named defensemen Jay Bouwmeester of the Florida Panthers and Bryan McCabe of the Toronto Maple Leafs to its roster. They replace Scott Niedermayer of the Mighty Ducks and Ed Jovanovski of the Vancouver Canucks, who withdrew because of injuries.

Boston Bruin defenseman Hal Gill of Concord, Mass., was added to the taxi squad of the U.S. men’s hockey team.

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-- Helene Elliott

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Mighty Duck defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski is expected to replace the injured Alexei Zhitnik for the Russian men’s hockey team.

Zhitnik, a defenseman with the New York Islanders, pulled out because of a sprained ankle.

A formal announcement is expected today. Vishnevski, 25, has played in two world championships for Russia.

He has one goal and three assists in 54 games with the Ducks this season.

-- Eric Stephens