In an interview with Iltalehti, Sarah Lewis, who allegedly built a doping trap for Finland, openly tells about her dismissal from the International Ski Federation.
- Sarah Lewis talks openly about the reasons for her tantrums.
- Lewis denies that he was setting a doping trap for the Finns in 2001. He transfers the responsibility to the Finnish team.
- The Olympic athlete was in Fis when talk about the fluoride ban began.
Twenty years in the pesti, then sudden dismissals due to a lack of trust.
Olympic athlete by Sarah Lewis his time as secretary general of the International Ski Federation, or FIS, ended with a bang in 2020. Almost nothing was made public about the departure passes.
– I didn’t leave, but my contract was terminated. It was not my decision, Lewis now tells Iltalehti.
According to the former alpine skier, the reason for the dismissals was the race for the chairmanship of Fis.
Long time chairman Gian-Franco Kasper had announced that he would leave his position in June 2021. Lewis was interested in pesti and later signed up for the race.
– The chairman at the time had an idea of who should be his successor. He said that if I’m going to run for president, I have to give up my pesti. Otherwise, one could think that I get an advantage from my position. The message was “if you continue, you can’t run,” says Lewis.
– There was no such thing in the rules or protocol. My contract was terminated without discussion.
Lewis is upset with how the matter was handled.
– I was at Fisi for a total of 27 years. Things could have been handled differently. Like talk to me.
Kasper is no longer commenting on events. He died at the age of 77 in July 2021. Instead of Lewis, the chairman pesti got Johan Eliasch.
Criticism for Finns
Jari Isometsä’s hemohes cart started Lahti’s infamous chain of events. IL ARCHIVE
Lewis was the general secretary of FIS when a group of Finnish skiers complained about doping at the World Championships in Lahti in 2001. The subject is on the back burner again, because Nelonen published Lahti 2001 TV series called
The series refers to the previously public information that a trap had been set for the Finns in the World Cup home games.
Finland was advised when Wada would test the team. The testers arrived two days earlier than agreed.
It has been hinted in the public that Lewis was one of the people who set the trap. Norwegian Rune Andersen already confirmed to IL in 2020 that he was one of the background devils of the trap.
– I have to refute the claim that a trap was set to catch the Finnish team. Wada’s rules state that outside the competition tests are done without prior notice, Lewis denies.
– Fis asked Wada to test the Finnish team after Jari Isometsä gave a positive sample. The timing of the tests was their (Wada’s) responsibility. The fact is that the athletes used prohibited substances with the help of the team staff.
The series also raised the claim that other teams would have used other plasma expanders. Finland, on the other hand, trusted that hemohes would not show up in the tests.
– If Finland didn’t know that the substance was visible and they used it, they cheated. They thought, great, we use a banned substance and it doesn’t show. Glad they got caught.
Learn from mistakes
With the TV series, the events in Lahti came to the fore again. IL ARCHIVE
Lahti 2001 series has been criticized for re-examining painful issues from more than 20 years ago. Lewis understands why the topic still resonates.
– Disappointment and shame about the events are deeply rooted in Finns. People are still interested in the topic because it used to be featured so much.
However, the former top athlete does not like that the testing and practices of that time are weighed. He emphasizes that doping testing was not as advanced in 2001 as it is now.
Lewis describes what happened as sad for Finland.
– It was a bad time for cross-country skiing. I worked with the Finnish Ski Federation 19 years after the events. In my opinion, Finns have accepted their mistakes and learned from them.
A change to the shock test?
Fluoride tests were done at the World Cup in Ruka. Pasi Liesimaa
Lewis was the general secretary of Fis when the association began to push for the fluoride ban that has now come into effect in Fis competitions.
It all started with the European Union’s policy that the fluorine concentrations of PFAS compounds must be reduced. Fluoride has been common in ski creams.
– Of course, we wanted the ban to be implemented as quickly as possible. It was complicated. Korona was involved, but Fis also had to develop a testing method.
Fis wanted to be on the same front as the International Biathlon Union Ibu. There is one significant difference in the fluoride bans of the species.
In Ibu competitions, you can get a warning, i.e. a yellow card, for fluoride. In fisi, fluoridation means dishwashing.
– Maybe Fis should discuss the same thing, Lewis thinks.
The public has feared that fluorine ending up in skis by accident could lead to a skid, the background of which was not to gain an advantage over others. Lewis compares the situation to doping.
– There is not necessarily a bad intention behind a positive doping test. Still, an athlete can gain an advantage compared to others.
– I hope that the fluoride test process is accepted and trusted. It’s hard without it.
THE FACTS
58-year-old Sarah Lewis is British, but lives in Switzerland. He was part of the Great Britain National Alpine Ski Team in the 1980s and competed in both the World Championships and the Olympics.
After his dismissal from Fis, Lewis worked as an advisor to the Chinese Winter Sports Association for almost a year.
Now the ex-athlete runs his own company, the goal of which is to improve sports leadership. Lewis also does consulting related to the cleanliness of sports and venues, participates in advisory boards and mentors.
– I guide and help especially women who are in a leadership position in sports, she says.