Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle (; born 27 November 1980) is a retired German
cross-country skier and
biathlete
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not time ...
from
Reit im Winkl
Reit im Winkl is a small village (locally known as a snow-magnet ) located on the German/Austrian border in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany in the Traunstein district, and was previously an immigration and customs control point (prior t ...
who has competed since 1998. She was born in
Traunstein
Traunstein (Central Bavarian: ''Traunstoa'') is a town in the south-eastern part of Bavaria, Germany, and is the administrative center of a much larger district of the same name. The town serves as a local government, retail, health services, ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. Competing in three
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
, 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).
Sachenbacher-Stehle has also won six medals at the
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship eve ...
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
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...
due to a high
hemoglobin
Hemoglobin (haemoglobin BrE) (from the Greek word αἷμα, ''haîma'' 'blood' + Latin ''globus'' 'ball, sphere' + ''-in'') (), abbreviated Hb or Hgb, is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythrocyt ...
level. She was one of twelve athletes given five-day suspensions for health reasonsthe
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. Her results in the IBU-Cup made her eligible to compete in the
Biathlon World Cup
The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons until 1986–87 season were called the European Cup, alt ...
. In her first World Cup race, on 14 December 2012 in
Pokljuka
The Pokljuka Plateau () is a forested karst plateau at an elevation of around , located in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia.
The plateau is known for its forests, mountain pastures (Javornik, Lipanca, Uskovnica, Zajamniki, etc.), and w ...
, Sachenbacher-Stehle finished 59th. On 6 January 2013 she achieved the first IBU Cup podium, finishing second in the 7.5 km sprint in
Otepää
Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia, it is the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer c ...
. 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
Methylhexanamine (also known as methylhexamine, 1,3-dimethylamylamine, 1,3-DMAA, dimethylamylamine, and DMAA; trade names Forthane and Geranamine) is an indirect sympathomimetic drug invented and developed by Eli Lilly and Company and marketed a ...
during the Sochi Olympic Games. She was stripped of her Olympic accreditation, and her results were annulled. In July 2014, she was banned for two years for doping. In November 2014 it was announced that the
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its c ...
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. However shortly afterwards she announced her retirement from the sport in an interview on the television programme ''
Sportschau
''Sportschau'' is a German sports magazine on broadcaster ARD, produced by WDR in Cologne. The magazine started in 1961. In its Saturday' edition, the ''Sportschau'' shows a summary of the Bundesliga, whereas the Sunday edition reports on the la ...
''.
She married German alpine skier Johannes Stehle in July 2005.
Cross-country skiing results
All results are sourced from the
International Ski Federation (FIS).
Olympic Games
* 5 medals – (2 gold, 3 silver)
World Championships
* 6 medals – (1 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze)
:a. Cancelled due to extremely cold weather.
World Cup
Season standings
Individual podiums
* 3 victories – (3 )
* 12 podiums – (12 )
Team podiums
* 7 victories – (4 , 3 )
* 25 podiums – (19 , 6 )
Note: Until the
1999 World Championships, World Championship races were included in the World Cup scoring system.
Overall record
:a. Classification is made according to FIS classification.
:b. Includes individual and mass start races.
:c. Includes pursuit and double pursuit races.
Note: Until
1999 World Championships, World Championship races are part of the World Cup. Hence results from the
1999 World Championships are included in the World Cup overall record.
Biathlon results
Olympic Games
References
*
* McCauley, Janie
"2002 champ loses appeal of high hemoglobin suspension" ''Ski Racing'', 11 February 2006.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sachenbacher-Stehle, Evi
1980 births
Living people
People from Traunstein
Sportspeople from Upper Bavaria
Cross-country skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Cross-country skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Cross-country skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Biathletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics
German female cross-country skiers
German female biathletes
Olympic cross-country skiers of Germany
Olympic biathletes of Germany
Olympic gold medalists for Germany
Olympic silver medalists for Germany
Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing
Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Doping cases in biathlon
German sportspeople in doping cases