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COACHING EDGE |WINTER SPORT |
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unintentionally taken via a Vicks decongestant
inhaler in his system following a drugs test. The
decongestant he had used had been bought in
the US and the ingredients were different to
those in the UK.
and as the excitement builds, Britain’s first and
only Olympic medal winner in Alpine skiing has
a word of warning for coaches of all sports.
Despite an appeal funded by the British
Olympic Association (BOA), the controversial
decision to remove his medal was upheld.
Now, 11 years on from the brightest, but also in
some ways the darkest episode of his career,
Britain’s greatest-ever skier says: ‘I’m not sure if
the testing system is still the same nowadays –
we had to give an hour a day every day
where we were going to be, which was difficult
in the days before the Internet.
y the time you read this there
will probably be just over 100
days to go until the Winter
Olympic Games get underway
in Sochi on Russia’s Black Sea coast...
Alain Baxter produced the performance of his
life in the men’s slalom to win bronze at The
Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Games.
However, the euphoria of that achievement
was almost immediately followed by the pain
of being disqualified, as the Scot was found to
have traces of methamphetamine (an isomer
with no significant stimulant properties)
‘You have to be strict with yourself. I had “two
strikes” at some point when a tester came
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knocking on my door and I wasn’t there. In
my case it just shows you how careful you have
to be.’
The man who skiied with a Saltire dyed in his
hair says the lesson he learned the hard way
will always act as a warning.
‘On drugs and drug testing, it
comes down to the coach,
the athlete and their
communication.
When it comes
to anything
like