Therese_Johaug

Therese Johaug

Therese Johaug

Norwegian cross-country skier

Therese Johaug (born 25 June 1988) is a former Norwegian cross-country skier from the village of Dalsbygda in Os municipality who has competed for the clubs Tynset IF and IL Nansen.[2] In World Ski Championships she has won ten individual gold medals along with four gold medals in relays, and she is a four-time Olympic gold medallist.

Quick Facts Country, Born ...

In October 2016, Johaug tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug clostebol. She was suspended for 18 months, missing the 2018 Winter Olympics. She returned to international competition at the World Cup in 2019.

On 4 March 2022, Johaug announced her retirement from elite cross-country skiing following the 2021–2022 season.[3]

Athletic career

After skiing some domestic races in the 2006 season, Johaug took part at the Norwegian Championships in 2007, winning a bronze at the 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit event.[4] She was selected for two World Cup races before the World Championships, finishing eighth and 33rd in two interval start races over 10 km, which was enough to be selected for competition in the 30 km distance at the 2007 Sapporo World Championships where she won a surprising bronze medal.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she won gold in the 4 × 5 km relay, came sixth in the 15 km pursuit and seventh in the 30 km mass start (classic) race.

Johaug won her first individual gold medal in the 30 km mass start race at the 2011 World Championships in Oslo. She also won gold in the 4 x 5 km relay, bronze in the 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit and fourth in the 10 km individual start. At the 2013 World Championships, she won her second individual gold medal in the 10 km freestyle race.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, she won the silver medal in the 30 km mass start (free), the bronze medal in the 10 km classical, and finished fourth in the 15 km skiathlon.

Johaug and compatriot Martin Johnsrud Sundby became the first Norwegians to win the Tour de Ski when they won the women's and men's competitions in the 2013–14 edition of the race.[5] Johaug subsequently won the overall and distance competitions in the 2013–14 FIS Cross-Country World Cup.[6]

She won the Birkebeinerrennet ski marathon in 2015 with a time of 2.41.46. That year she also enjoyed her most successful World Championship performance in Falun, where she took three gold medals: two in individual events (the 15km skiathlon and the 30km classic mass start) and one as part of the Norwegian women's team in the 4x5km relay.[7][8][9]

Johaug followed her World Championship success with her best-ever World Cup season in 2015–16, winning a second Tour de Ski by overturning a 39-second deficit to Ingvild Flugstad Østberg on the final stage to complete the climb up Alpe Cermis with a lead of 2 minutes 21 seconds over runner-up Østberg.[10] She went on to capture the overall and distance World Cups, rounding off her season by winning the inaugural Ski Tour Canada in a similar fashion to her Tour de Ski win, eradicating Heidi Weng's 30-second lead on the final stage pursuit to take victory by over a minute.[11]

Until 2016 Egil Kristiansen coached Johaug, and was described (by media) as "in reality her best coach ... [and he had] helped her master freestyle" skiing.[12]

In August 2019, Johaug competed in the Norwegian national athletics championship and won the 10,000 metres on 32:20.87.[13] She followed this up with a time of 31:33.15 in May 2021 falling just 8 seconds short of an Olympic berth.[14]

Doping

In September 2016, Johaug tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug called Clostebol, an anabolic steroid. Johaug said that the substance came from an ointment for her sore, sunburnt lips, which she used from 4 to 15 September. She claims to have used the ointment called Trofodermin. It contains Clostebol. The word "Doping" behind a 'No Symbol' is normally printed on the back of its packaging in Italy; however, it's not an international or European standardized marking, it's not used in Norway, and some argue it can be interpreted inversely and should instead be an open circle.[15][16][17] Johaug said that the drug was given to her by the team's physician, Fredrik S. Bendiksen. Bendiksen said that he did not notice that it contained a forbidden substance. Under interrogation, he explained how in retrospect, a combination of three causes reduced his focus to allow the unlikely mistake to occur: 1) His wife's eye surgery (potentially cancer) had him to have to leave Livigno the next day. 2) Another athlete was hospitalized, 3) He had to prepare for a press conference presentation about the team's asthma medication protocols the next day.[18][19] After the incident he resigned his position as a team's physician, but he remains closely associated with elite Norwegian skiing.[20][21][22] Bendiksen had previously worked for Pfizer, the medical company that produces the salve in question, but it is not a product marketed in Norway.[23]

Some pieces of evidence corroborated Johaug's testimony. Her lip symptom was pictured in media two days after the cream was bought.[24] A receipt and the doctor's bank statement existed for purchase of the cream on the claimed date.[25][26] Johaug filed the drug on the doping form prior to testing. The latter is quite extraordinary to alert the doping agency of which uncommon substance to test for when you don't have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). It was also expressed by the plaintiff (FIS) that "the Clostebol found in Ms Johaug's system was a result of inadvertence" and that "she did not act with intention to cheat or gain any competitive advantage", but that "failing to examine the box and entirely missing the warning sign" did not put her in the 'No Fault (NF)' category, but rather in the 'No Significant Fault (NSF)' category, which under the WADA code warrants a 12-24mth suspension.[27]

The concentration of clostebol that was measured in her blood is by itself consistent with her explanation of using Trofodermin on her lips right before the test was taken. It is also consistent with using Clostebol in large doses in the weeks before the test. The positive drug test was taken after Johaug did not have any doping control for a period of four months.[28]

On 19 October, Johaug was suspended by Anti-Doping Norway for two months while the case was investigated. The Norwegian Olympic Committee later gave Johaug a 13-month suspension. This ban would have expired in time to allow Johaug to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics, but in March 2017, the International Ski Federation appealed this decision. They argued that the suspension was at the low end of applicable suspensions and failed to reflect the fact that the athlete had missed a printed doping warning label.[29][30] On 22 August 2017 the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued a decision "in which Ms Johaug is suspended for a period of 18 months commencing on 18 October 2016".[31] As a result of the suspension Johaug was not able to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[32]

Olympic Games

  • 7 medals – (4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
More information Year, Age ...

World Championships

  • 19 medals – (14 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)
More information Year, Age ...

World Cup

  • 8 titles – (3 overall, 5 distance)
Season
Discipline
2014 Overall
Distance
2016 Overall
Distance
2019 Distance
2020 Overall
Distance
2022 Distance
More information Season, Age ...

Individual podiums

  • 82 victories – (45 WC, 37 SWC)
  • 149 podiums – (82 WC, 67 SWC)
More information No., Season ...

Team podiums

  • 18 victories – (18 RL)
  • 22 podiums – (22 RL)
More information No., Season ...

Overall record

More information Result, Distance Races[a] ...
a. 1 Classification is made according to FIS classification.
b. 1 2 3 4 5 Includes individual and mass start races.
c. 1 Includes pursuit and double pursuit races.
d. 1 Withdrawn from 2009–10 Tour de Ski.

Sponsors

As of 13 October 2016, her sponsors were Tag Heuer, Huawei, Isklar and Eger.[33]

The sponsorship with Huawei ended in December 2020.[34]

References

  1. [1]
    Norway Olympic Team and Media Guide Sochi 2014. Norway: Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports. 2014. p. 48.
  2. [2]
    Berg, Stein (6 September 2008). "Johaug i Nansen". Østlendingen (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  3. [3]
    "Therese Johaug to retire from cross-country skiing after triple gold at Olympics". NBC Sports. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  4. [4]
    Therese Johaug at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
  5. [5]
    "Johaug and Sundby of Norway win Tour de Ski". Yahoo! Sports. 5 January 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  6. [6]
    "Therese Johaug and Martin Johnsrud Sundby races into record books". Fédération Internationale de Ski. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  7. [7]
    "Therese Johaug wins third gold medal with dominant 30 km victory". International Ski Federation. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  8. [8]
    "Johaug is Skiathlon World Champion 2015 – UPDATED". International Ski Federation. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  9. [9]
    "Norway retain relay crown in Falun". Eurosport. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  10. [10]
    "Johaug and Sundby Champions of Tour de Ski". International Ski Federation. 10 January 2016. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  11. [11]
    "Johaug and Sundby end impressive seasons with victories". International Ski Federation. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  12. [12]
    "Therese blir nektet å få hjelp av sin beste trener". 19 October 2016.
  13. [13]
    Rolf Bryhn, Stig Arild Pettersen. "Therese Johaug" (in Norwegian). Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  14. [14]
    "Johaug förlorade kampen mot klockan". SVT Sport (in Swedish). 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  15. [15]
    AS, TV 2 (13 October 2016). "Slik virker stoffet Johaug er tatt for". TV 2 (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 5 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. [16]
    Tingve, Joachim Baardsen Pål Marius (13 October 2016). "Eksklusive bilder fra det italienske apoteket stiller nye spørsmål til skandalelegens Johaug-forklaring". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  17. [17]
    Trygsl, Nicholas Bergh Tine Dommerud Henning Carr Ekroll Sindre. "Vi kjøpte Johaug-kremen i Italia – ble møtt med denne dopingadvarselen". Aftenposten (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  18. [18]
    "Slik har lege Bendiksen forklart seg om hvorfor han sviktet Johaug". Vg.no.
  19. [19]
    "Vg.no forum". Vgd.no (archived). VG. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022.
  20. [20]
    Anders Rove Bentsen et al. (13 October 2016) Johaug har testet positivt på forbudt stoff NRK
  21. [21]
    "- Fredrik Bendiksen tilbake på Olympiatoppen". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). 3 October 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  22. [22]
    Fredrik Østberg Sandberg et al. (19 October 2016) Therese Johaug suspendert i to måneder Dagbladet
  23. [23]
    "– Bendiksen jobbet åtte år for Pfizer, som produserer salven". abcnyheter.no (in Norwegian). 17 October 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  24. [24]
    "Slik gikk alt galt i Livigno". Aftenposten. Aftenposten.
  25. [25]
    "Denne kvitteringen kan gi støtte til Johaugs og Bendiksens forklaring". TV2.
  26. [26]
    "Idrettsadvokat kritisk til Johaug-etterforskning". DN.
  27. [27]
    "CAS 2017/A/ 5015 & 5110" (PDF). tas-cas.org. CAS.
  28. [28]
    Bergh, Nicholas; Ekel, reas Bakke Foss Halvor. "Johaug gikk over fire måneder uten å bli dopingtestet". Aftenposten (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  29. [29]
    FIS Appeals Johaug Decision, Seeking Longer Sanction (FasterSkier, 7 March 2017)
  30. [30]
    Norway skier Johaug's doping ban too short, says FIS (TheLocal.no, 8 March 2017)
  31. [31]
    Court of Arbitration for Sport (22 August 2017) THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT (CAS) DECISION IN THE CASE OF THERESE JOHAUG: 18-MONTH SUSPENSION CAS
  32. [32]
    "JOHAUG Therese". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  33. [33]
    "Sponsorer slår ring rundt Johaug".
  34. [34]
    https://www.nrk.no/sport/avtalen-har-fatt-knallhard-kritikk-_-na-avslutter-johaug_og_huawei_sama [dead link]

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