Milla Saari is a former Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 cross country skier who competed from 1994 to 2007. She was best known for her doping

Doping (sport)

The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...

 role in the 2001 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

2001 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2001 took place February 15–25, 2001 in Lahti, Finland for a record sixth time, previous events being held in 1926, 1938, 1958, 1978 and 1989...

 doping scandal that would affect five other Finnish skiers for taking hydroxyethyl starch

Hydroxyethyl starch

Hydroxyethyl starch is a nonionic starch derivative. It is one of the most frequently used volume expander under the trade names Hespan by B. Braun Medical Inc...

 (HES), a blood plasma

Blood plasma

Blood plasma is the straw-colored liquid component of blood in which the blood cells in whole blood are normally suspended. It makes up about 55% of the total blood volume. It is the intravascular fluid part of extracellular fluid...

 expander. Saari, then Jauho, was part of the 4 x 5 km team that finished second, but would be disqualified for her blood doping and would receive a two year suspension from the FIS

International Ski Federation

The International Ski Federation, known by its name in French, Fédération Internationale de Ski is the main international organisation for ski sports...

 as a result. She also finished 6th in the 15 km event at those same championships.

Saari competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics

1998 Winter Olympics

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...

 in Nagano where she finished 31st in the 15 km event and 50th in the 30 km event. She earned all four of her individual career victories up to 10 km after she served her two year doping suspension from 2003 to 2005.

Saari retired after the 2006-07 World Cup season.