Beckie Scott

Last updated

Beckie Scott
Beckie Scott.jpg
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Full nameRebecca Scott
Born (1974-08-01) August 1, 1974 (age 50)
Vegreville, Alberta, Canada
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Ski clubVermilion Nordic Ski Club
World Cup career
Seasons13 (19942006)
Indiv. starts129
Indiv. podiums15
Indiv. wins4
Team starts16
Team podiums4
Team wins0
Overall titles0 – (2nd in 2006)
Discipline titles0
Medal record
Women's cross-country skiing
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Salt Lake City 2 × 5 km pursuit
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2006 Turin Team sprint

Rebecca "Beckie" Scott [1] OC AOE MSM (born August 1, 1974) is a Canadian retired cross-country skier. She is an Olympic gold and silver medallist, and the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. [2] She is the founder of a national organization dedicated to improving health, wellness and education outcomes for Indigenous youth through sport and play. [3] Scott was Chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Athlete Committee, and gained notoriety for her position during the Russian (2014–2019) doping scandal. [4] She served as an International Olympic Committee member by virtue of being elected to the IOC Athlete's Commission along with Saku Koivu between 2006 and 2014. [5] She is married to the American former cross-country skier Justin Wadsworth. [6] They have two children, Teo and Brynn.

Contents

Career

Beckie Scott during the torch relay for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, July 2012 Beckie Scott torch relay handover 2012.jpg
Beckie Scott during the torch relay for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, July 2012

Scott was born in Vegreville, Alberta, but grew up in Vermilion, Alberta. Supported by her parents, she began cross-country skiing at the age of five. [7] She entered her first competition at age seven and attended the Junior National Championships in 1988. [8] She went on to win seventeen World Cup medals in sprint, individual Scott is a three-time Olympian, participating at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. Her best-placed finish in Nagano was 45th, but Scott won a gold medal in cross-country skiing at the Salt Lake City games. She originally finished third in the 5 km pursuit, but she was upgraded to the gold medal when winner Olga Danilova and runner-up Larissa Lazutina were eventually disqualified for using darbepoetin, a performance-enhancing drug. [9] Scott was awarded a silver medal before receiving her gold medal in June 2004, almost two and a half years after the Olympics ended. She became the first Canadian and first North American woman to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing.

Scott is an Officer of the Order of Canada, [10] and has been honoured with a variety of awards in Canada. She has been inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame, [11] and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Waterloo [7] and has twice received the John Semmelink Award, for demonstrating sportsmanship and ability in international competition. [12] She holds honorary Doctorates of Laws from the University of Alberta, [13] Mount Royal University and the University of British Columbia. [14] Scott was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence on October 17, 2019. [15]

On March 29, 2005, Scott agreed to join the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) athlete committee. [16]

On February 23, 2006, Scott was elected as an athlete member of the International Olympic Committee along with Finnish ice hockey player Saku Koivu. [17] Scott retired on April 12, 2006, as the most decorated Canadian cross-country skier. 2006 was also her best season, with multiple victories and podiums on the World Cup circuit, to go with her Olympic silver in one of her races in Turin, and she lost out on winning her first World Cup overall season title to the great Marit Bjørgen by the smallest margin.

In September 2012, Scott was appointed to WADA's executive committee. [5] In September 2018, Scott resigned from the WADA compliance and review committee responsible for making a recommendation to end the Russian Anti-Doping Agency's suspension from WADA. [18]

Charity

In 2017, Scott established Spirit North, a charitable organization dedicated to improving health, wellness and education outcomes for Indigenous youth through equitable access to sport and play. [19]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS). [20]

Olympic Games

 Year  Age  5 km  10 km  15 km  Pursuit  30 km  Sprint  4 × 5 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
1998 21 47 60 45 51 16
2002 25 4 Gold 5 8
2006 29 DSQ 6 4 10 Silver

World Championships

 Year  Age  5 km  10 km  15 km  Pursuit  30 km  Sprint  4 × 5 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
1995 20424043
1997 222425272814
1999 2436532915
2001 262611CNX [a] 96
2003 288694
2005 3013415 12 10
a. 1 Cancelled due to extremely cold weather.

World Cup

Season standings

 Season  Age 
OverallDistanceLong DistanceMiddle DistanceSprint
1994 19NC
1995 20NC
1996 21NC
1997 22505150
1998 23334331
1999 2444NC21
2000 251521209
2001 261517
2002 272210
2003 28910
2004 2916236
2005 30182212
2006 31Silver medal icon.svgBronze medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svg

Individual podiums

  • 4 victories
  • 15 podiums
No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlace
1 2000–01 14 January 2001 Flag of the United States.svg Soldier Hollow, United States1.0 km Sprint FWorld Cup3rd
2 2001–02 19 December 2001 Flag of Italy.svg Asiago, Italy1.5 km Sprint FWorld Cup3rd
3 2002–03 19 December 2002 Flag of Austria.svg Linz, Austria1.0 km Sprint FWorld Cup3rd
415 February 2003 Flag of Italy.svg Asiago, Italy5 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
520 March 2003 Flag of Sweden.svg Borlänge, Sweden1.0 km Sprint FWorld Cup3rd
6 2003–04 12 March 2004 Flag of Italy.svg Pragelato, Italy1.0 km Sprint FWorld Cup2nd
7 2005–06 10 December 2005 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Vernon, Canada7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/FWorld Cup2nd
811 December 20051.5 km Sprint FWorld Cup1st
915 December 2005 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canmore, Canada10 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
1017 December 200515 km Mass Start CWorld Cup1st
1121 January 2006 Flag of Germany.svg Oberstdorf, Germany7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/FWorld Cup1st
128 March 2006 Flag of Sweden.svg Falun, Sweden5 km + 5 km Skiathlon C/FWorld Cup3rd
139 March 2006 Flag of Norway.svg Drammen, Norway1.0 km Sprint CWorld Cup2nd
1415 March 2006 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Changchun, China1.0 km Sprint FWorld Cup2nd
1519 March 2006 Flag of Japan.svg Sapporo, Japan7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/FWorld Cup1st

Team podiums

  • 2 podiums – (1 RL, 1 TS)
No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlaceTeammate(s)
1 2000–01 13 January 2001 Flag of the United States.svg Soldier Hollow, United States4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2nd Renner / Thériault / Fortier
2 2005–06 18 December 2005 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canmore, Canada6 × 1.2 km Team Sprint CWorld Cup2nd Renner

See also

References

  1. IOC member profile
  2. General, Office of the Secretary to the Governor (May 9, 2019). "Beckie Scott, O.C., M.S.M." The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  3. "Beckie Scott". Spirit North. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  4. Ybarra, Andres (December 8, 2019). "Beckie Scott, WADA Athletes Committee calls for full Russian ban". CBC Sports . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Associated Press.
  5. 1 2 Christie, James (May 8, 2018). "Becky Scott joins top level of WADA". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  6. "Justin Wadsworth". Olympedia. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Beckie Scott | Team Canada". Canadian Olympic Committee. September 18, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  8. Korobanik, John (November 29, 2013). "Skiing in the Tracks of Olympian Beckie Scott". Snow Seekers. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  9. "Court Orders IOC to Award Beckie Scott Gold Medal". olympic.ca. December 18, 2003. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  10. Zimonjic, Peter (December 27, 2018). "Author Ann-Marie MacDonald, Olympian Beckie Scott joining Order of Canada". CBC. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  11. Christie, James (May 30, 2011). "Beckie Scott selected to Canadian Ski Hall of Fame". Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  12. "John Semmelink Award History of Recipients" (PDF).
  13. "Dig deep and enjoy the journey, Olympian advises UAlberta grads". folio.ca. June 5, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  14. "2019 Honorary Degree Recipients | Okanagan Graduation".
  15. "The Alberta Order of Excellence". www.lieutenantgovernor.ab.ca. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  16. "CBC Sports - Road to Torino: Anti-drug committee recruits Scott". Archived from the original on April 4, 2005. Retrieved March 31, 2005.
  17. ESPN - Beckie Scott, Saku Koivu elected to IOC - Olympics
  18. Pells, Eddie (September 15, 2018). "Beckie Scott resigns from WADA committee that recommended reinstating Russian Anti-Doping Agency". cbc.ca. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  19. Sibonney, Claire (Winter 2023). "Game On: Three organizations are working hard to ensure that Canadian kids benefit from the power of play". CAA Magazine. CAA. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  20. "SCOTT Beckie". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved December 17, 2019.