# Walter Mayer

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{{short description|Austrian cross-country skier and coach (born 1957)}}
{{about||the American baseball player|Wally Mayer}}
'''Walter Mayer''' (born March 17, 1957) is an Austrian [cross-country skier](/source/Cross-country_skiing_(sport)) and coach. He won the [Vasaloppet](/source/Vasaloppet) in 1980, and finished second in 1992. As a coach, he was banned from the [2006](/source/2006_Winter_Olympics) and [2010 Olympics](/source/2010_Winter_Olympics) after [blood transfusion](/source/blood_transfusion) equipment was found in a house used by Austrian skiers during the [2002 Winter Olympics](/source/2002_Winter_Olympics) in [Salt Lake City, Utah](/source/Salt_Lake_City%2C_Utah). Mayer was accused of [blood doping violations](/source/doping_(sport)) and the  [International Olympic Committee](/source/International_Olympic_Committee) (IOC) announced the ban after a three-month investigation.

At the [2006 Winter Olympics](/source/2006_Winter_Olympics) in [Turin](/source/Turin), Mayer—who had been spotted with the Austrian team despite his suspension—fled back to Austria after a surprise overnight raid on the quarters of the Austrian skiers by Italian police. He crashed his vehicle into a police roadblock, and was immediately relieved of his coaching duties by the Austrian Ski Federation. Police found syringes and a blood transfusion machine in the home where Mayer had been staying.<ref>{{cite news|title=Blood transfusion machine found in drug raid|first=Ariel|last=David|newspaper=[Hamilton Spectator](/source/Hamilton_Spectator)|date=February 22, 2006|page=A14}}</ref> Claiming that he was suicidal, Mayer entered a [psychiatric hospital](/source/psychiatric_hospital) in Austria. In an interview with ''[NEWS](/source/NEWS_(Austrian_magazine))'', an Austrian magazine, Mayer said he was trying to kill himself when he drove into the police roadblock.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} He pleaded guilty to charges of civil disorder, assault, and damage to property.

In March 2006, Mayer filed defamation lawsuits against [Dick Pound](/source/Dick_Pound), head of the [World Anti-Doping Agency](/source/World_Anti-Doping_Agency), and [Jacques Rogge](/source/Jacques_Rogge), president of the IOC. He withdrew both suits in February 2007. The IOC held hearings in April 2007 on allegations of doping by Austrian skiers at the 2006 games. On April 25 the hearings closed, resulting in the lifetime suspensions of six Austrian skiers. Banned as a result of the hearings were biathletes [Wolfgang Perner](/source/Wolfgang_Perner) and [Wolfgang Rottmann](/source/Wolfgang_Rottmann) as well as cross country skiers [Martin Tauber](/source/Martin_Tauber), [Jürgen Pinter](/source/J%C3%BCrgen_Pinter), [Johannes Eder](/source/Johannes_Eder) and [Roland Diethart](/source/Roland_Diethart). While the six will be unable to compete in any capacity at any future Olympic event, the ban does not affect non-Olympic sporting events.

Mayer was arrested in [Austria](/source/Austria) in March 2009 on suspicion of selling doping substances.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/more/03/23/austrian-ski-coach-arrested.ap/index.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714024335/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/more/03/23/austrian-ski-coach-arrested.ap/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 14, 2012|title=Former Austrian Ski Coach Arrested|publisher=SI.com|date=March 23, 2009}}</ref>

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Walter}}
Category:Austrian male cross-country skiers
Category:Austrian sportspeople in doping cases
Category:Doping cases in biathlon
Category:Doping cases in cross-country skiing
Category:Vasaloppet winners
Category:1957 births
Category:Living people
Category:20th-century Austrian sportsmen

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Walter Mayer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mayer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mayer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.