updated 10:03 a.m. ET Feb. 13, 2006

PRAGELATO, Italy - Right before the last Olympics, Kristina Smigun found herself at the center of a doping case.

In the midst of another, she won a gold medal.

The Estonian won the 15-kilometer pursuit Sunday, cross-country’s first event of the Turin Games since a dozen skiers were suspended five days for elevated hemoglobin in their blood. Smigun was not involved this time, and made the best of the smaller field.

She made a strong push in the home stretch through the stadium to overtake silver medalist Katerina Neumannova of the Czech Republic, winning in 42 minutes, 48.7 seconds — 1.9 seconds ahead of Neumannova.

“I saw her red boots, but when I passed her 300 meters before the finish, I knew the gold medal was mine,” Smigun said. “I needed to ski today. I needed to be in the front.”

The two broke away from the pack in the final couple of kilometers.

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“When you’re in a group of six or eight skiers, you can’t control the race. But when you’re first, you can do what you want,” Smigun said.

Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva-Abruzova earned bronze in 43:03.2.

Smigun tested positive in December 2001 for an anabolic steroid following a World Cup race in Italy. But a second sample came up negative, and she was cleared to compete in the Salt Lake City Games.

Four years ago, the World Anti-Doping Agency investigated Smigun’s case and chairman Dick Pound later said the first lab that tested her sample goofed and didn’t realize she was female.

Defending Olympic pursuit champion Beckie Scott placed sixth Sunday, then afterward took comfort in the fact she considered it a fair race — a race she hoped was free of doping.

“It was a clean race,” Scott said. “Things are getting better in our sport. The testing is good and I’m confident it was a clean event.”

World Cup leader and favorite Marit Bjorgen of Norway dropped out before the midway point with a stomach problem. Russia’s Julija Tchepalova, in second place in the World Cup standings, finished a disappointing ninth and 50.8 seconds behind Smigun.

Salt Lake City gold medalist Evi Sachenbacher was among eight skiers who failed blood tests Thursday, including two Americans. They are scheduled to be retested Monday and could be cleared in time to compete in other events. Four more skiers were suspended Friday for the same reason.

There is no proof that the athletes did anything wrong, and they were quick to point out that the test result can often be caused by dehydration or the body’s natural adjustment to high altitude; the cross-country venue is at about 5,000 feet. But it does suggest the possibility of illegal blood doping.

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The ski federation that conducted the tests said the suspensions were not disciplinary but to “protect the health of the athlete.”

Sachenbacher lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after a last-ditch effort by German officials to show she has a naturally high level of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin.

In pursuit, athletes change their skis halfway through at the 7.5-kilometer mark and are allowed to skate after starting the race with classic skiing.

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