Larisa Lazutina

Who is Larisa Lazutina?

Larisa Evgenevna Lazutina is a former professional cross country skier who competed for Russia during several Winter Olympic Games. In the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, she won five medals in skiing events: three gold, a silver and a bronze. She was the most successful athlete at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Upon her return from the Olympics, Boris Yeltsin awarded her the title Hero of the Russian Federation. However, Lazutina was banned from competition for a period of 2 years due to a positive drug test result during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Before the drug test controversy in 2002 ended her career, Lazutina earned several medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. She won a total of fourteen medals, including eleven golds