FasterSkier

Tag: Nikolay Pankratov

  • FIS: Pankratov Gets Two-Year Ban


    Russian cross-country skier Nikolai Pankratov. Photo, Ivan Isaev.

    Russian cross-country skier Nikolay Pankratov has received a two-year ban from the International Ski Federation (FIS), FIS Anti-Doping Administrator Sarah Fussek said Tuesday morning.

    Pankratov, who was caught by Swiss customs in September with intravenous equipment and 22 vials of Actovegin—a suspicious, though legal drug—was barred from FIS competitions through September, 2012.

    Pankratov was sanctioned based on article 2.6 of the FIS Anti-Doping Rules, which addresses the possession of “prohibited substances” or “prohibited methods.” According to Fussek, the specific provision that Pankratov violated was one that bars athletes from using intravenous infusions, known as “M2” on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Prohibited List .

    Intravenous infusions are indeed illegal, though Markus Hoss, Pankratov’s lawyer, had maintained that the equipment found in the athlete’s car was insufficient to perform such a procedure—the paraphernalia allegedly included just two “butterfly” needles and some tubing.

    Hoss could not be reached Tuesday, but in December, he told FasterSkier that “you have to prove that you have a complete prohibited method.”

    Furthermore, Hoss had argued that the Actovegin in Pankratov’s car was in vials of two millileters—too small to be administered intravenously.

    Instead, he said, it was meant to be injected into Pankratov’s muscles—a procedure that is not banned. Actovegin itself is not a prohibited substance, either, though experts say that it is sometimes used as part of a doping regime that does include illegal drugs.

    Over the past two years, the Russian Ski Association has run afoul of FIS for the large number of doping cases among its athletes. The association was fined more than $185,000 last spring, though it escaped further sanctions this fall after barring several coaches from working with the Russian national team.

    The FIS decision will not be made public until Wednesday, Fussek said, but she added that it did not mention the Russian Ski Association. Further sanctions, she said, would have to be addressed by the FIS Council—an 18-member executive body that meets a few times a year. (The decision on Pankratov’s case was made by the FIS Doping Panel—a three-member committee convened to address rules violations by individual athletes—while the council generally considers cases involving national federations.)

    “This would be an issue for the council, only, to decide,” Fussek said.

    Hoss was in meetings all of Tuesday, and he did not immediately answer an e-mail query as to whether Pankratov would appeal the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In December, Hoss had said that an appeal was likely.

    If the ban stands, Pankratov would be able to return to the sport for the 2012-2013 season, when he’s 29 years old.

    A former World Championships medalist in the relay in 2005 and 2007, Pankratov’s career seemed to be on the wane after last season—he broke into the top 10 on the World Cup circuit just three times in individual races, without a podium.

    In the spring, Pankratov was dropped from the Russian national team, and he had spent time in Norway last summer training with some of the country’s elite, including Martin Johnsrud Sundby.

  • Actovegin Apparently Well Known in Eastern Europe

    NORWAY – The Russian cross-country skier Nikolay Pankratov was reportedly held up on the Swiss border last week when customs officials found intravenous equipment and 22 vials of the substance Actovegin in his car. Former Norwegian biathlon team director Kjell Ove Oftedal is surprised that the substance is not currently on the doping list.

    “I think WADA should at least declare whether the substance is legal or not. If it’s not illegal, you can’t single out athletes publicly like what is now happening to Pankratov…I had never heard of the substance, but apparently, the drug is well known in Eastern Europe,” Oftedal said to the Norwegian newspaper Adresseavisen.

    Anti-doping expert Ingard Lereim, M.D., says to Norwegian national TV station NRK that Actovegin is a substance intended to increase or improve the effect of blood doping.

    “Additionally, Actovegin is said to help speed up the recovery of overuse injuries. But we don’t know how widespread its use is,” the exercise physiologist told nrk.no.

    Russian national team manager, Yuri Charkovsky, told Adresseavisen that he knows nothing about the Pankratov case.

    “He is not a part of our team. He is not on the national A-team or the national B-team,” Charkovsky said.

    However, Pankratov has been a part of the Russian national team for several years. He recently said in an interview with Langrenn.com that he thinks Russia should be more open to other countries’ training philosophies.

    “In Russia, we’ve done the same things for 20 years. We travel to the same places, we run the same loops, and do the same roller ski courses. There are a lot of other really nice places in Russia to have training camps, but we always go to the same places,” Pankratov says.

    But language barriers make it hard for the Russians to approach other nations. Oftedal recalls that the Russian coaches and team staff would say “hello” at the range, and that was the extent of the contact he would have with the Russian team. Pankratov is one of very few Russian skiers who speak English.

    “There are a lot of athletes and coaches who want to talk with the Russians, but we don’t speak English. That is a huge problem for us,” Pankratov said to Langrenn.com in an interview with the web site at the end of August.

    From Langrenn.com, September 15, 2010 By Ola Jordheim Halvorsen, translation by Inge Scheve

  • Pankratov on Norwegian Training Culture: Variety and Wet Feet

    Several weeks ago Langrenn.com published an interview with Russian Olympian Nikolay Pankratov, who was in Norway training with Team Synnfjell. The plan was that Pankratov would come back to Norway later in September to train with the Norwegian national team when they return from their altitude camp in the Alps. Those plans are likely scrapped after he was caught on the Swiss border last week with intravenous equipment and vials of the drug Actovegin.

    “In Norway, you run all over the place and get your feet wet every workout. In Russia, we run specific, predetermined courses every time. We know exactly what’s waiting,” Nikolay Pankratov said.

    Pankratov was tired after a week of training in Norway. The strong Russian skier had attended the Team Synnfjell training camp at the end of August and was impressed with the way the team works. However, getting his wet feet on almost every workout added a new dimension to Pankratov’s training experience.

    “It’s pretty funny. You try to keep your feet dry, but after 10 minutes you’re soaked no matter what you do. You run all over the place in this country,” he said.

    Pankratov met with Langrenn.com at the Oslo airport just before he was leaving Norway and the Team Synnfjell camp. He had gained insight to the Norwegian cross-country training culture, as well as some very sore abs.

    “Yesterday we did a strength circuit workout that included five different ab exercises. I’ve never done that before, I’ve only done sit-ups. But the new exercises seem very effective. I’m very sore now, and it will be even worse tomorrow,” Pankratov said with a grin.

    Less variety in Russia

    “In Russia we’re following a program that we’ve used for many years, especially on the strength side. But I’ve seen YouTube videos of the Norwegian sprint team boys and I’ve tried some of the drills they do, especially those that Øystein Pettersen is doing. Those videos are funny,” Pankratov said.

    While Pankratov is no longer a part of the Russian national team, he has been for many years. Pankratov has been on age-specific national teams with the Russian national ski association throughout his junior career, and has placed on the podium in several World Cup events, and helped the Russian team to a relay bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships in Oberstdorf (GER).

    What do you consider to be the biggest differences between the Russian and the Norwegian training cultures and team environments? The lack of variety?

    “In Russia, we’ve done the same things for 20 years. We travel to the same places, we run the same loops, and do the same roller ski courses. There are a lot of other really nice places in Russia to have training camps, but we always go to the same places,” Pankratov explained and continued: “For instance, this summer, Rybinsk had a heat wave and it was extremely hot there. But that was where the national team had their camp, and the skiers had to get up insanely early to be able to train at all. They could have gone to a different place, but that’s not in the protocol. Even if it’s 40 degrees Celcius. I talked to Alexander Legkov, who said they couldn’t sleep at night.”

    Do the skiers say anything?

    “We don’t have those kinds of discussions on the national team in Russia.”

    What kinds of discussions do you have?

    “There is no social environment in the national team. There are almost no team meetings, three workouts per day and that’s the focus. Everyone does the same workout. There are no individual adaptations.”

    So you are looking for a change, and that’s why you come to Norway?

    More openness

    “I wish we could be more open to other countries’ training cultures in Russia. I was very lucky to find a connection with Team Synnfjell and Frode Bjeglerud (team director). They organized the trip coming here, and I feel very grateful for that,” Pankratov said.

    Martin Johnsrud Sundby said he was impressed with how much volume you log. Do you think the Norwegian skiers train very little?

    “Well, now I’ve trained with a Norwegian team for a week, and I think we averaged about four hours per day. That’s definitely a less than we would do during a training camp in Russia, but I am at least as tired as I would be after a week-long training camp at home. We’ve done so much variety here,” Pankratov explained.

    What can the Norwegians learn from you and the Russian skiers?

    “One thing that is good about the Russian training program is that the athletes only need to think about training. That is the only focus. Train, eat and sleep,” he said.

    Huge language barriers

    The openhearted Pankratov believes the language barriers are a large part of the reason why the “distance” between the Russians and other countries appears so big. While Pankratov speaks good English, he is one of very few among his fellow skiers.

    “There are a lot of athletes and coaches who want to talk with the Russians, but we don’t speak English. That is a huge problem for us,” Pankratov said. “For myself, it’s been helpful to train with Team Synnfjell, and when I get home, I will continue to speak English with my wife,” he joked.

    10,000 kilometers

    In Russia, the skiers keep track of distance in their training logs, not hours as we do in Norway. Pankratov covers about 10,000 kilometers per year, and at the training camps the athletes are subjected to rigorous standards.

    “The Russian national team has about 20 training days at camps, and 10 rest days every month outside the competition season,” he said. “You get up and train before breakfast, 30 minutes running and 30 minutes strength. That’s good for waking up. After breakfast, we do the second workout, which lasts about two and a half hours, either roller skiing or running. After that we do strength and stretching for 30 minutes. The coaches are there all the time,” Pankratov said to Langrenn.com.

    All roller skiing is done on a track. The trafficin Russia makes it lethal to attempt roller skiing on the roads. After a long lunch break and a short nap, they get back at it for their third workout of the day. This session is typically 1hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, followed by 30 minutes strength and stretching. Pankratov said some skiers even do a fourth workout.

    From Langrenn.com, September 2, 2010 By Ola Jordheim Halvorsen, translation by Inge Scheve

  • Johnsrud Sundby: Shocked and Saddened by Pankratov News

    Martin Johnsrud Sundby. Photo, Geir Olsen.

    NORWAY – When Russian skier Nikolay Pankratov was caught on the Swiss border with intravenous equipment and 22 vials of actovegin, nobody was more shocked than Martin Johnsrud Sundby. The Norwegian national team member has spent much of his summer training with and getting to know the Russian skier during his extended training stay in Norway.

    “I’m shocked, and I just don’t want to comment further at this point,” was Johnsrud Sundby’s answer when Langrenn.com brought him the news this weekend.

    Impressed with Pankratov’s volume

    Earlier this fall, Johnsrud Sundby said in an interview with Langrenn.com that he was impressed with the Russians’ eagerness to train.

    “You almost want to ask yourself if what we do at the national team is elite level,” Johnsrud Sundby said with a grin.

    Johnsrud Sundby is one of the national team racers who can show off the most annual hours in his training log, and barely ever skips a workout. For the upcoming season, Johnsrud Sundby and national team coach Morten Aa Djupvik have decided to cut back a bit on the annual hours in order to ensure quality.

    This summer, Johnsrud Sundby has spent considerable time with Pankratov, who has two second-place finishes on the world Cup, as well as a bronze medal from the 2005 World Championships in Oberstdorf (GER). Johnsrud Sundby was impressed with Panratov’s capacity.

    “You sometimes start to wonder whether what we do here in Norway is elite level at all when you hear how much these Russians train. It’s insane. I’m simply shocked by some of the stories Pankratov tells me,” Johnsrud Sundby said to Langrenn.com.

    Pankratov, who signed a mutual contract with the private Norwegian initiative “Team Synnfjell,” completed an extended stay in Norway at the end of august. One of his last workouts was an uphill time trial that Johnsrud Sundby also attended.

    “He’s an incredible athlete. It’s been very interesting to gain some insight into the Russian training culture. It’s quite different from what we’re used to here in Norway,” Johnsrud Sundby said after the time trial.

    Six to seven hours per day

    That the Russians log far more training hours than the Norwegian national team doesn’t bother Johnsrud Sundby one bit. “I think it’s really interesting. It just shows that putting in a lot of hours really works. The Russians are very strong, and often the fastest in the field. There is guaranteed nobody who trains more than the Russians, and their training methods are different from ours. Pankratov puts in between six and seven hours of training every day, so then you do the math for the annual volume,” Johnsrud Sundby said.

    What are your thoughts on overtraining?

    “In Norway, we’re horrified of overloading the system. We talk about overload here and overload there, but few Norwegians do more than three to four hours per day. You get quite a different perspective when you hear how much skiers from other nations train. We only train half the volume of the Russians.”

    There are no rights or wrongs

    Johnsrud Sundby is attending the Norwegian national team altitude camp until the middle of September. Only he and Petter Northug are staying that long. ”I think a lot of people are too fast to draw conclusions. For instance, I’ve noticed a lot of people claim that that the volumes and methods the Russians train are silly. Well, it obviously works, so it can’t be that wild,” he said.

    But it seems to work just fine to train half as much?

    “Exactly. That’s what’s so interesting. There are no black and white rights and wrongs,” Johnsrud Sundby said. “But I have a feeling that a lot of people in Norway train a lot, but very few log extreme volumes. At the same time, there are a lot of very good Norwegian skiers, but not very many extremely good skiers,” he added.

    Does Pankratov inspire you to match his training volume, or will you stick to your plan of slightly less volume this season?

    “This season I will reduce my volume just a bit. I hope that works for me,” Johnsrud Sundby said.

    From Langrenn.com August 25, 2010 By Ola Jordheim Halvorsen, translation by Inge Scheve