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Jared
Scott
awarded gold by IOC
Fri Dec 19,
2003
CBC SPORTS ONLINE
Cross-country skier
Beckie Scott officially is a gold-medal winner. Canadian cross-country
skier Beckie Scott reacts at her hotel in Ramsau, Austria, on Thursday.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday ordered the International
Olympic Committee to reward the Canadian athlete because of doping infractions
by the Russian winner.
Scott initially
won the bronze medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and later had
it upgraded to silver.
"We (coaches, teammates)
were on pins and needles waiting for this decision to come out," Scott,
a native of Vermilion, Alta., told CBC's Newsworld after the decision.
"I'm so happy with the news."
"This is a great
day for Canada, our national team athletes and the cross-country skiing
community across the country," Leopold Nadeau, president of Cross Country
Canada, said in a statement.
"Beckie has become
an international hero and an icon for fair play. We are tremendously
excited that she will finally get the recognition as an Olympic champion
for her precedent-setting performance."
The court also ruled
that the IOC pay the arbitration costs of 36,000 Swiss francs ($38,140
Cdn). The IOC was also ordered to pay Scott 8,000 Swiss francs ($8,475
Cdn) to help with her legal fees.
At issue was whether
the Olympic Charter allowed the IOC to strip two Russians of medals
they had won in Salt Lake prior to failing a drug test.
Russia's Olga Danilova
won the gold while Larissa Lazutina took the silver in the five-kilometre
pursuit, but both skiers later tested positive for darbepoetin prior
to another race.
Darbepoetin, a drug
used to help patients with chronic kidney failure, boosts the production
of red blood cells that carry oxygen to muscles.
"It doesn't pay
to cheat," Scott said. "It's a good day.
"This is so important
for sports and for history. The little guy won out, finally. This is
a precedent-setting moment and the right thing was done."
The 29-year-old
Scott became the first North American woman to win a cross-country Olympic
medal.
Michael Chambers,
president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, feels Scott's case is a
landmark decision in Olympic sports.
"If they can see
fit to award to Beckie success in this case, it'll send a very strong
message to the international sport community that good things are happening
to good guys," he said. "There are clean athletes competing and there
are clean athletes winning."
The COC backed Scott
in her fight, presenting the cross-country skier's case before the Court
of Arbitration for Sport.
"The IOC didn't
think they had the right to take away the medals the Russian athletes
had won the week before," said Chambers. "We're arguing the interpretation
of that."
The IOC allowed
Lazutina to hold onto the silver medals she won in the pursuit and the
10-kilometre combined and Danilova to keep her silver from the 10-kilometre
classic and the pursuit gold because they passed drug tests after those
races.
Later, Lazutina
was stripped of her medals once it was learned she had tested positive
for blood doping at World Cup races prior to the Games, making her ineligible
for subsequent competitions, including the Olympics.
As a result, Scott's
bronze was upgraded to silver, but Danilova still kept her gold medal.
In presenting its
case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the COC argued the Olympic
Charter says any athlete caught cheating at the Olympics should be stripped
of all of their medals.
Under new rules
laid down by the World Anti-Doping Agency, an athlete who fails a drug
test forfeits any and all medals won at that competition.
Danilova and Lazutina
used various legal challenges to fight losing their medals, including
filing a protest with the European Court of Human Rights. They argued
that they were denied a fair trial and have sought $1 million US each
in compensation.
The court also
ruled on another Olympic doping offence involving cross-country skier
Johann Muehlegg, a German-born Spaniard.
Muehlegg lost his
gold medal in the 50-kilometre event, also for taking darbepoetin. However,
the IOC allowed him to keep two other golds. Those now go to Norwegian
competitors.
with files from
Canadian Press
Beckie
Scott awarded silver medal
Oct.
21st 2003
CALGARY - Canadian
cross-country skier Beckie Scott received an Olympic silver medal Tuesday,
almost 20 months after the Salt Lake City Games.
Against a clear
blue sky, fluttering Canadian flags and RCMP in their red serge, fellow
Canadian Olympic medallist Charmaine Crooks presented the medal to Scott.
She stood on the
podium as friends, family and fans cheered. A military band played 'O
Canada' and two fighter jets flew past.
"I would like to
thank everyone who has shown continued support and encouragement through
this long and seemingly endless process. But we're almost there," said
Scott.
Scott was initially
awarded a bronze in the five-kilometre race at the 2002 Winter Games
in Salt Lake City, becoming the first North American woman to win an
Olympic cross-country skiing medal.
Both Russian skiers
who finished ahead of her have tested positive for banned substances.
Scott was upgraded
to a silver medal, and could be upgraded again to gold when the Court
of Arbitration for Sport makes a ruling.
Written by CBC News
Online staff
