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Canadian deserves gold, coach says
Feb. 25, 2002. 01:00 AM
IOC policy under fire after Russian skiers fail drug tests
Randy Starkman
SPORTS REPORTER
SALT LAKE CITY — Beckie Scott's coach believes she's in line to receive two things — an Olympic gold medal and an apology from Dick Pound.

The two Russian cross-country skiers — Olga Danilova and Larissa Lazutina — who finished ahead of Scott when she won Canada's first-ever Olympic medal in that sport last week in the 5-kilometre pursuit event, were tossed out of the Games yesterday, along with Johann Muehlegg of Spain.

Lazutina and Muehlegg were stripped of medals won in other races this past weekend after testing positive for darbepoetin, a performance-enhancing drug which boosts the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to muscles.

It's a new drug and was not on the banned list, but clearly contravenes the intent of the rules. Danilova tested positive for the same drug. All three positive results came from out-of-competition drug tests on Thursday.

Canadian cross-country skiing coach Dave Wood said the Canadian Olympic Association planned to file an official protest last night seeking a gold medal for Scott.

"I think Beckie deserves a gold medal, but we're going to have to fight like hell for her to get it," Wood said. "The disappointing thing is you have an athlete who's clean and plays by the rules and she's being cheated out of her rightful place on the podium."

Arne Ljunqqvist, chairman of the IOC's medical commission, said the disqualifications should serve to warn athletes who might think they can get away with using new drugs.

Lazutina was disqualified shortly after winning the 30-kilometre classic-style race. The medal would have been the 10th of her Olympic career, tying her for the most ever by a woman.

Muehlegg must return his medal from Saturday's 50-kilometre classical race.

All three athletes were ordered to leave the Games immediately.

But, the IOC said it could not strip the other medals won earlier in the Games by those athletes — including the gold won by Danilova and silver by Lazutina in the 5-kilometre pursuit ahead of Scott — because they had passed those drug tests.

Scott had stated after her race that doping was still rife in her sport and she didn't believe it was a clean field. When asked whether that referred to the Russians who finished ahead of her, Scott replied: "No comment."

Pound, an IOC member and chairman of the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA), publicly chastized Scott in a newspaper interview for making generalizations and requested she come forward with names.

"I think Dick Pound owes Beckie an apology, given the events of the last couple of days," said Wood.

What Pound should really be doing is going to bat for Scott in the same way he reportedly did for Jamie Salé and David Pelletier when everyone thought they got jobbed of a gold medal in the figure skating pairs event.

If the Russians have been cheating, as the medical evidence indicates, then it's very hard to believe that they just started their doping program before these last races, where they were finally caught.

Wood points out that another prominent Russian skier tested positive just before the Olympics.

"To me, it's pretty obvious the Russians are using a program with performance-enhancing drugs much like the Finns did last year," said Wood, referring to a scandal at the world championships last year in which the Finnish athletes, coaches and doctors were implicated in a blood-boosting program.

"It's time that organizations like the IOC and FIS (International Ski Federation) put their foot down hard rather than just give a slap on the hand. The testing the FIS is doing is bogus. Nothing's changing."

Scott, who has waged a courageous effort against doping, said she was glad to see more cheaters being rooted out, but remains concerned about inadequate testing.

"I think the evidence is in the events of this last week and in the news that came out this morning," she said.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said they could not take the other medals away from the disgraced athletes, but that those medals are tainted.

"Technically, they are Olympic champions," Rogge said. ``Morally, it is a totally different issue."

While legally the IOC's hands might be tied, what's to prevent them from giving someone like Scott her own gold medal à la Salé and Pelletier?

For starters, the IOC is afraid to ruffle the Russians' feathers any further, now that they've squawked so much at these Games. Plus, this isn't a sexy issue that people like Pound or NBC for that matter will rally behind. It's a cross-country skier who's being ripped off, not a figure skater.

Like Scott's coach says, the least Pound can do is apologize — nice and public, too, just like his criticisms.