STOCKHOLM (AP) — Bengt Saltin, a Swedish professor of human physiology and a leading anti-doping expert, has died. He was 79.

The Swedish Olympic Committee said Saltin died Friday after a long illness.

Saltin was head of the anti-doping program at the International Ski Federation, mapping the blood values of cross-country skiers from 2001-07. He was also a researcher in high altitude training, helped the Swedish cross-country team and was adviser to the national Olympic committee for 10 years.

In 1964, Saltin obtained a Ph.D. in the study of human aerobics and circulation at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, where he worked as associate professor until 1973 when he was appointed professor of human physiology at the University of Copenhagen.

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