British Skier Baxter Determined to Clear His Name
Fri Mar 22, 7:47 AM ET
By Adrian Warner
LONDON (Reuters) - British skier Alain Baxter said on Friday that he had come to terms with losing an historic bronze medal from last month's Salt Lake Olympics because of a drug offence but was still determined to clear his name.
Baxter has yet to decide whether to appeal against Thursday's decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to strip him of Britain's first Alpine skiing medal after he tested positive for the prohibited stimulant methamphetamine.
But Baxter told BBC radio: "The next step is to clear my name and get my career back in line again. I do not want to drag it out. The lawyers are taking control of things. (But) I want to concentrate on my skiing career."
Baxter, 28, blames the positive test on a nasal inhaler which he thought was harmless. He had bought the product in the U.S. thinking it was exactly the same as an inhaler he used in Britain.
The Scot, who was welcomed as a hero in his home town of Aviemore in the Highlands after the triumph, wants to show that his sample did not contain a performance-enhancing drug.
The compound methamphetamine exists in two chemical forms. One has no abuse potential while the other is a stimulant. In the interview Baxter denied taking the stimulant speed.
Baxter has the right to take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which rules on disputes between competitors and sports bodies.
The Scot has been suspended from competition until mid-April and will learn in early June whether he faces a longer ban from international skiing officials.
British Olympic officials said they expected to make a decision in the next couple of weeks on any appeal.
Baxter has been ordered to give his medal back to the IOC by the end of the month. It will be awarded to Austrian Benjamin Raich who finished fourth in the slalom.
Raich, however, said on Friday that he felt no gratification for being awarded his second medal of the Games. Raich, who won a bronze in the combined event at last month's Games, said a medal won on the negotiating table had only limited value.
"I'm accustomed to achieving my successes on the piste," the Tyrolean said.
"I still haven't been told by anyone that the third place in the Olympic slalom actually has been granted to me," the 2001 World Cup slalom champion added.
But, told of Raich's comments, Baxter said: "If I am taken out of the race, the medal is his."
