When the Finnish ski team is caught out playing dirty, what’s left behind is 'Dirty Snow'

It was a doping scandal that rocked Finland to the core. Now a mini-series based on these real-life events delves into what really went on at the World Ski Championships.

A man in a cross-country ski competitor's outfit stands in the snow, hands on his head.

Johannes Holopainen plays real-life competitor Mika Myllylä in 'Dirty Snow'. Credit: Viaplay

The 2001 World Ski Championships in Lahti were meant to be a triumph for Finland. Skiing is the country’s national sport: having the world championships on home turf should have been the perfect opportunity for their athletes to show off their skills to the world. Instead, a doping scandal led to six cross-country skiers and four members of the coaching team being banned from competition. How did it all go so wrong? Dirty Snow has the answers.

Sports journalist Eero Järvinen (Mikko Leppilampi) knows the world of skiing well. He was once a near the top tier himself; he knows the athletes, their support teams, and the world they compete in. So when he’s approached by a mysterious source (Sanna-Kaisa Palo) telling him that there’s a well-organised doping system at work within the Finnish ski team, he doesn’t want to believe it. And not just because it would make his country look bad to his Norwegian journalistic colleague and romantic partner Therese Jensen (Veslemøy Mørkrid).

A man and a woman, wearing coats, stand outide, in the snow, with snow-covered trees behind. The corner of a structure, with national flags on poles, can be see behind them.

Therese Jensen (Veslemøy Mørkrid) and Eero Järvinen (Mikko Leppilampi). Credit: Viaplay

The more he digs, the more it stacks up. And in the meantime, the cross-country team is hard at work winning medals and basking in the glory that comes with being a success on the world stage. Janne Immonen (Kai Vaine) and Mika Myllylä (Johannes Holopainen) are among those enjoying the thrill of victory under the leadership of head coach Kari-Pekka Kyrö (Tobias Zilliacus), unaware that their use of a drug to alter the levels of haemoglobin in their blood has already been picked up by testing, and their house of cards is about to come tumbling down.

A man bends low, skiiing down a slope. Hoarding with the words Laiti 2001 can be seen behind him.

Johannes Holopainen as skiier Mika Myllylä. Credit: Viaplay

Possibly the most amazing thing about Dirty Snow is that the series exists at all. The doping scandal at Lahti in 2001 was more than just another drugs in sports scandal: to the Finns it was a national tragedy, a devastating injury that time has done little to heal. It all but wiped out a generation of Finnish skiers, even though for the athletes involved the ban from competition was only for two years. Some retired, other attempted comebacks that didn’t take. Mika Myllylä, who never returned to the national team, was found dead in his home in 2011 in what was officially described as “an accident”.

Even 20 years on, the idea of making a television series about the events that caused the scandal was massively controversial in Finland. One of the banned skiers, Jari Isometsä (played by Jon-Jon Geitel in the series), publicly spoke out against the series during its production. The producers attempted to enlist contemporary athletes and coaches during the preparation phase to help the realism of the series, only to be knocked back (the famous ski coach Reijo Jylhä eventually came on board to train some of the actors).

A man in black pants, blue jacket and white beanie runs along a snowy road, beside a long building.

Jon-Jon Geitel plays skiier Jari Isometsä in the series. Credit: Viaplay

Dirty Snow isn’t a documentary: it’s a fictional look at actual events, using a mix of real (the skiers and their support team) and created characters (the journalists) to examine the doping scandal and its repercussions. As you’d expect with such a controversial and fiercely debated subject, there are areas where the producers had to choose a version of events to go with, even if it was a controversial choice.

One of the more divisive figures involved in the scandal was Norwegian anti-doping supervisor Inggard Lereim (played in the series by Trond Teigen). At the time and ever since, supporters of Finland’s team have claimed he set a trap for their skiers. Lereim denies it to this day, saying the decision to test the Finnish team came from the World Anti-Doping Agency and had nothing to do with him. Whichever path the series went down, someone was going to be unhappy; let’s just say every drama needs a bad guy.

A man in a blue jacket and white beanie, with an identity pass handing around his neck, stands in a snowy street.

Head coach Kari-Pekka Kyrö, played by Tobias Zilliacus. Credit: Viaplay

Even with such a high stakes drama, sometimes reality throws in a curveball. In the middle of the investigation and the doping allegations, a doctor’s bag belonging to a member of the Finnish ski team was found left behind at a service station. No big deal – except that it was full of the drugs and equipment used in doping. Head coach Kyrö picked it up from the police; by then the team was already handing back their medals.

So why did they do it? Dirty Snow is upfront about the stresses and pressures of international sport, the need to succeed that comes from the top and drives everyone to their limit and beyond. The series may date back to 2001, but the question of drugs in sport is one that has not gone away.

Dirty Snow is streaming now at SBS On Demand.