Olympic Skier Caught With A Needle In His Arm During Blood Doping Raid

Boy, it’d suck to be this guy. German and Austrian officials conducted a doping raid at the Nordic skiing world championships last week in Seefeld, Austria. Five skiers and four other people were arrested at the championships, while German authorities claim they also arrested the alleged ringleader in Erfurt, Germany. Two pro cyclists already admitted to blood doping last week, but nobody will likely be as embarrassed as the dude caught on camera receiving a transfusion.

The man who was caught red-armed is Austrian Max Hauke, a veteran of the Sochi and Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. A brief video obtained by Norwegian network NRK shows Hauke, unsure of what to do, sitting on a chair while police mill around. (German paper Vorarlberg, though they have since deleted it without explanation.) Maybe he can try the “The needle fell into my arm!” excuse?

The police officer who took the video was reportedly fired and could face criminal charges. Austrian skiing federation official Markus Gandler confirmed the arrests of Hauke and cross country skier Dominik Baldauf. They were both released shortly after.