Thomas Oelsner

Thomas Oelsner (born 19 June 1970) is a retired German Paralympic Nordic skier who won multiple gold medals throughout his career. He was the first person to fail a drugs test at the Winter Paralympic Games and was stripped of two gold medals. After he served his ban he returned to competitive skiing and participated in the 2006 and 2010 Games.

Thomas Oelsner
Personal information
Born (1970-06-19) 19 June 1970
Sport
Country Germany
SportParalympic Nordic skiing
ClubWSV Oberhof
Medal record
Paralympic Games
1994 Lillehammer Men's Biathlon 7.5 km Free Technique LW5-8
1994 Lillehammer Men's Cross Country 10 km Free Technique LW6/8
1994 Lillehammer Men's Cross Country 20 km Classical Technique LW6/8
1998 Nagano Men's Biathlon 7.5 km Free Technique LW6/8
1998 Nagano Men's Cross Country 15 km Free Technique LW5/7,6/8
1994 Lillehammer Men's Cross Country 5 km Classical Technique LW6/8
1994 Lillehammer Men's 4x5 km Cross Country Relay standing/blind
1998 Nagano Men's Cross Country 5 km Classical Technique LW5/7,6/8
1998 Nagano Men's Cross Country 4x5 km Relay standing/blind
2006 Torino Men's Cross Country 5 km standing

Biography

Oelsner was born on 19 June 1970 and is currently an advertising salesman.[1] In 1991 he was injured in a motorcycle accident which left him with a paralysed left arm.[1][2] He entered the 1994 Winter Paralympics in Lillehammer as a LW6 class competitor in the biathlon and cross country skiing.[1] Oelsner's first games were a success, winning three golds, one solo silver, and one silver as part of the German relay team.[1][3] Since then he has continued to use the same skis, even sleeping with them, as a matter of tradition.[2] At the 1998 Games in Nagano he won two golds and one individual silver, and a silver with the German relay team.[1][3]

Failed drugs test

At the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City Oelsner won gold in the 7.5 km biathlon and the 5 km classic cross country.[2] However, he would go on to become the first athlete to be sent home from a Winter Paralympic Games for failing a drug test when he tested positive for the steroid methenolone.[4][5] He was suspended prior to the 10 km cross country event and subsequently stripped of the two gold medals.[6][7] Oelsner protested his innocence,[8] claiming that there had been a laboratory error or an act of sabotage involved.[9]

Return to competition

Oelsner completed a six-month national ban and returned for the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino.[8] He achieved a bronze in the 5 km cross country skiing.[3][10]

At the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver Oelsner was embroiled in another controversy when he claimed that the sight on the gun he was using for the Biathlon had been sabotaged, smeared in something he thought might have been chocolate. He soon retracted the accusation and accepted responsibility, stating that whatever happened would have occurred when the gun was in his care.[11] Oelsner announced his retirement from competitive skiing at the end of the 2010 Games.[12]

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References
  1. "Name: Thomas Oelsner" (in German). Verein zur Förderung des nordischen Behinderten-Skilaufs Deutschland. Archived from the original on 9 March 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  2. "Paralympics Der mit dem Ski schläft: Thomas Oelsner". Frankfurter Allgemeine (in German). 11 March 2002. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  3. "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  4. "Gold medallist fails drugs test". BBC News. 13 March 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  5. "Sports Round-up". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. 13 March 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  6. "Paralympics Thomas Oelsner war bei Biathlon-Sieg gedopt". Frankfurter Allgemeine (in German). 12 March 2002. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  7. "Vancouver's Scott Patterson wins bronze at Paralympics". Oxford Review. 14 March 2002. p. 11. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  8. "Paralympics Dopingfall Oelsner: Test eindeutig - Reaktionen gespalten". Frankfurter Allgemeine (in German). 13 March 2002. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  9. "Biathlet Oelsner wittert Sabotage bei Paralympics" (in German). Handelsblatt. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  10. "PARALYMPICS: Bramble, Devlin-Young Go 1-2 In Alpine; Cook Nabs Nordic Gold". SkiRacing. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  11. "Paralympics: Oelsner: "Über das Ziel hinausgeschossen"". Focus online. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  12. "Keine Nation war erfolgreicher als Deutschland" (in German). Berliner Morgenpost. 21 March 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
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