Prominent doping case ARD investigation: doping ban for canoeing world champion Hiller
One of Germany’s leading canoe sprinters has secretly received a four-year doping suspension after positive tests for three different anabolic substances, ARD can exclusively reveal.
Martin Hiller, one of Germany's best paddlers and bronze medallist at last year's World Championships, has been quietly absent from the national team squad since the start of the new season. The case was not made public, even though the 25-year-old was banned for four years in February after being found guilty of doping in a serious case.
He is the first name of a convicted doper to be made public by ARD research out of a presumed total of up to 130 previously anonymous cheats. All of them have been convicted of doping by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) since March 2020, but their names have not been published for data protection reasons.
Hiller was world and European champion in 2022 and finished third in the K2 1000 metres final at the World Championships in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in August last year. But just a few weeks later, the Potsdam athlete tested positive in an out-of-competition doping test in October. A further test the following month was again positive.
Four-year ban accepted
Hiller did not appeal against the NADA's final decision at the beginning of 2025. He accepted the four-year ban, and on February 14, the entire case was closed.
Martin Hiller, former world and european champion
‘Three anabolic substances were found, which led us to conclude that there were aggravating circumstances in our assessment of the case, resulting in a total penalty or sanction of four years,’ confirmed NADA chairman Lara Mortsiefer in response to a query from ARD's Sportschau programme. The positive findings revealed the steroids methandrostenolone and methandienone – a common hardcore doping agent – as well as ostarine, a relatively new product with similar effects and muscle-building properties.
According to information from Sportschau, the Potsdam public prosecutor's office has conducted a criminal investigation. A few days ago, under file number 426 JS 46545/24, it applied for a penalty order against Hiller for violating the Anti-Doping Act in the amount of 30 daily fines of 70 euros each. Hiller was not available for comment at short notice.
‘We assume that NADA will then publish such things.’
German Canoe Federation sports director Jens Kahl confirmed the case when asked during the World Cup in Poznan this weekend, adding: ‘We assume that the NADA will then publish such things.’ Hiller's club, KC Potsdam, appears to have quietly deleted the doping offender's profile from its website's list of athlete biographies.
The NADA stated that it had informed the relevant institutions about the case, including the World Anti-Doping Agency and “the relevant national and international sports federations.” It would probably not have published the doping case in its report until summer 2025 – as a mere number in the statistics and an anonymous line in a summary.
The NADA stated that it had informed the relevant institutions about the case, including the World Anti-Doping Agency and “the relevant national and international sports federations.” It would probably not have published the doping case in its report until summer 2025 – as a mere number in the statistics and an anonymous line in a summary. However, none of this had been made public until now – which contradicts the principles of transparency and deterrence often cited as hallmarks of the fight against doping.
The extent of the secrecy in this case also became clear when Sportschau interviewed the German team at the World Cup in Poznan. “Uh, yes, exactly, Martin Hiller isn't here, that, uh, what can I say, I'm not saying anything, yes,” said canoeist Anton Winkelmann. Others simply said that they believed he had ended his career.
However, none of this had been made public until now – which contradicts the principles of transparency and deterrence often cited as hallmarks of the fight against doping.