Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle

Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle
Sachenbacher-Stehle in Stockholm, 2007
Country Germany
Born (1980-11-27) 27 November 1980 (age 43)
Traunstein, West Germany
Height162 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Ski clubWSV Reit im Winkl
World Cup career
Seasons14 – (19992011, 2014)
Starts228
Podiums12
Wins3
Overall titles0 – (4th in 2003, 2006)
Discipline titles0
Medal record
Women's cross-country skiing
Representing  Germany
International nordic ski competitions
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 2 3 0
World Championships 1 4 1
Total 3 7 1
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City 4 × 5 km relay
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2002 Salt Lake City Individual sprint
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin 4 × 5 km relay
Silver medal – second place 2010 Vancouver 4 × 5 km relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Val di  Fiemme 4 × 5 km relay
Silver medal – second place 2003 Val di Fiemme 10 km double pursuit
Silver medal – second place 2007 Sapporo Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2007 Sapporo 4 × 5 km relay
Silver medal – second place 2009 Liberec 4 × 5 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Ramsau 4 × 5 km relay
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2000 Štrbské Pleso 15 km classical
Silver medal – second place 1999 Saalfelden 4 × 5 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Saalfelden 15 km freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Štrbské Pleso 5 km freestyle

Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle (German pronunciation: [ˈeːfi ˈzaxənbaxɐˈʃteːlə]; born 27 November 1980) is a retired German cross-country skier and biathlete from Reit im Winkl who has competed since 1998. She was born in Traunstein, West Germany. Competing in three Winter Olympics, she won five medals with two golds (Team sprint: 2010, 4 × 5 km relay: 2002) and three silvers (Individual sprint: 2002, 4 × 5 km relay: 2006, 2010).[1]

Sachenbacher-Stehle has also won six medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a gold (4 × 5 km relay: 2003) and four silvers (5 km + 5 km double pursuit: 2003, team sprint: 2007 with Claudia Künzel-Nystad, 4 × 5 km relay: 2009) and a bronze. She also has fourteen individual victories at various levels in distances up to 5 km in her career from 1998 to 2006.

She received a five-day suspension at the beginning of the 2006 Winter Olympics due to a high hemoglobin level.[2] She was one of twelve athletes given five-day suspensions for health reasons – the International Ski Federation decided they could not safely compete due to an abnormally high red blood cell counts.

From the 2012/2013 season, she switched to biathlon, citing motivational problems, and was given a slot in the German B-team. Members of the B-team are eligible to compete in IBU Cup races.[3] Her results in the IBU-Cup made her eligible to compete in the Biathlon World Cup. In her first World Cup race, on 14 December 2012 in Pokljuka, Sachenbacher-Stehle finished 59th.[4] On 6 January 2013 she achieved the first IBU Cup podium, finishing second in the 7.5 km sprint in Otepää.[5] As of January 2014, her best individual performance in a World Cup race remains sixth place in 7.5 km sprint in Sochi on 10 March 2013. She finished fourth in the 12.5 kilometre mass start biathlon competition of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games on 17 February 2014.

On 21 February 2014, it was confirmed that Sachenbacher-Stehle had tested positive for methylhexanamine during the Sochi Olympic Games.[6][7] She was stripped of her Olympic accreditation, and her results were annulled. In July 2014, she was banned for two years for doping.[8] In November 2014 it was announced that the Court of Arbitration for Sport had ruled that her ban should be cut to six months after she appealed, on the grounds that her failed test was due to contamination of food supplements.[9] However shortly afterwards she announced her retirement from the sport in an interview on the television programme Sportschau.[10]

She married German alpine skier Johannes Stehle in July 2005.

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Skiers suspended over blood tests". CNN. 10 February 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  3. ^ "Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle gets a spot in biathlon B-Team". International Ski Federation. 22 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Ernüchternde Sachenbacher-Premiere" (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Iourieva Celebrates Second Win". International Biathlon Union. 6 January 2013. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Biathletin Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle positiv getestet". Focus.de. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  7. ^ "Sochi 2014: German athlete fails A sample drugs test". BBC Sport. 21 February 2014.
  8. ^ "German Olympic champion Evi Sachenbacher banned for doping". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  9. ^ Elser, Christopher (14 November 2014). "German Olympic Skier's Doping Ban Reduced by Sports Appeal Court". businessweek.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Biathlete Sachenbacher-Stehle announces retirement following doping case". dw.de. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.