Walter Mayer

Walter Mayer (born 17 March 1957) is an Austrian cross-country skier and coach. As an athlete he won the Vasaloppet ski race in 1980 and finished second in 1992. He is better known as a coach of Austrian skiers, and his career was overshadowed by a doping scandal. Blood transfusion equipment was found in a house used by Austrian skiers during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and the International Olympic Committee banned him from the 2006 and 2010 Games after a three-month investigation. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin he was seen with the Austrian team despite the ban; after an overnight raid by Italian police he fled back to Austria and crashed his vehicle into a police roadblock. He later pleaded guilty to charges of civil disorder, assault and damage to property, and in March 2009 he was arrested in Austria on suspicion of selling doping substances.