Montreal Gazette

Olympian Scott keeps up her war on drug cheats

- VICKI HALL vhall@postmedia.com

Beckie Scott no longer travels the globe in pursuit of medals, spending her time instead skiing leisurely around the Canmore Nordic Centre with her family.

But behind the scenes, the 2002 Olympic cross-country champion is battling as hard as ever for the sanctity of sport.

Scott, 41, is the chairperso­n of the World Anti-Doping Agency athlete committee and a member of the review committee that declared Russia non-compliant. The historical November decision led to the immediate decertific­ation of the Moscow doping control laboratory that processed blood and urine samples from Russian athletes.

Speaking on behalf of athletes around the world, Scott asked the 38-person WADA Foundation Board in Colorado Springs to expand the independen­t commission’s investigat­ion to all sports in Russia, not just track and field. Her request generated a standing ovation, but nothing in the way of action — or headlines back home.

“It’s really gutting to know that amount of cheating has been going on for so long, and it’s still going on,” Scott says, “Quite honestly the reaction from some of the sport organizati­ons has been pretty disappoint­ing. There hasn’t been enough people standing up saying ‘This is an abominatio­n. It has to stop.’”

Scott has been singing off the same choir sheet for more than 15 years. At the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, she finished third behind two Russian skiers, Olga Danilova and runner-up Larisa Lazutina.

“I can stand on the podium and wear my medal with pride knowing I did this on my own,” she said at the time. “I’m burning natural gas in my engine.”

The two Russians failed drug tests, which resulted in a goldmedal ceremony for Scott more than two years after the fact in Vancouver.

“It’s frustratin­g,” Scott says. “I really felt back in 2002 that this was a watershed moment for sport. The scandal in Salt Lake City was really going to change things. Now, looking back, nothing has changed. If anything, it’s just got more sophistica­ted.”

Undeterred, Scott vows to keep battling on behalf of clean competitor­s. “I still believe in fair, clean sport,” she says. “I still believe it’s an important cornerston­e of the Olympic movement and for athletes worldwide. Of course I’m positive. I couldn’t be involved if I wasn’t.”

JUNIO QUALIFIES

Speedskate­r Gil Junio had a tough time sleeping the night before Sunday’s World Cup race in Stavanger, Norway. With a world championsh­ip berth on the line, he fuelled up on Cocoa Puffs, eggs and fried potatoes and reported to the rink for what amounted to a race-off against fellow Canadian Laurent Dubreuil.

Junio, of Calgary, crossed the line in 34.86 seconds to win 500-metre bronze and, more important, secure the third and final Canadian quota spot at the single distance world championsh­ips Feb. 11-14 in Kolomna, Russia.

Dubreuil, from Lévis, was ranked second overall in the 2014-15 World Cup standings. William Dutton, of Humboldt, Sask., and Alex Boisvert-Lacroix, of Sherbrooke, had already pre-qualified in Canada’s deepest discipline.

 ?? MIKE DREW ?? Olympic gold medallist Beckie Scott, the chairperso­n of the World AntiDoping Agency athlete committee, has asked the WADA Foundation Board to expand an independen­t commission’s investigat­ion in Russia to all sports, not just track and field.
MIKE DREW Olympic gold medallist Beckie Scott, the chairperso­n of the World AntiDoping Agency athlete committee, has asked the WADA Foundation Board to expand an independen­t commission’s investigat­ion in Russia to all sports, not just track and field.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada