Mika Myllylä
Cross-country skier
Died when: 41 years 296 days (501 months)Star Sign: Virgo
Mika Kristian Myllylä (12 September 1969 – 5 July 2011) was a Finnish cross-country skier who competed from 1992 to 2005.He won six medals at the Winter Olympics, earning one gold (1998: 30 km), one silver (1994: 50 km), and four bronzes (1994: 30 km, 4 × 10 km; 1998: 10 km, 4 × 10 km).
Myllylä also won a total of nine medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, winning four golds (1997: 50 km, 1999: 10 km, 30 km, 50 km), three silvers (10 km + 15 km combined pursuit: 1997, 1999; 4 × 10 km relay: 1997), and two bronzes (10 km: 1995, 1997).
He was on his way to become one of the greatest stars in cross-country skiing history, until he was caught doping in the Finnish 2001 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships scandal for taking hydroxyethyl starch (HES), a blood plasma expander usually used to cover up the use of erythropoietin (EPO) in athletes.
The scandal also affected five other Finnish skiers, including Jari Isometsä and Harri Kirvesniemi.Myllylä received a two-year suspension from the FIS as a result.
In connection with a 2011 court case, Myllylä gave a sworn statement where he admitted using EPO in the 1990s, during his career.
After the suspension Myllylä tried to return to skiing, but failed to come back to the international level despite winning a few Finnish championships.
Myllylä retired from the skiing sports in 2005.In the following years he was involved in alcohol-related problems which were extensively covered in Finnish tabloid papers.
On 5 July 2011, Myllylä was found dead at his home in Kokkola.The official police investigation concluded that his death was the result of an accident, and ruled out the possibility of foul play and suicide.
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