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Snowboard

Scandals and Controversies: Ross Rebagliati

C.O.R.D.

Posted Tuesday, November 25, 2008 3:54 PM ET

On Sunday February 8, 1998 - Day Two of the Olympic Games - Ross Rebagliati became the first Olympic snowboard gold medallist, winning the inaugural Olympic giant slalom. Rebagliati came back from eighth place after his first run to edge Italy's Thomas Prugger for the gold by .02 of a second
Two days after the competition, the executive board of the IOC announced that Rebagliati would be stripped of his gold medal for testing positive for marijuana. This marked the first time in history an athlete had been disqualified for using a non-performance enhancing drug
It was a close decision; the IOC medical board voted 13-12 against Rebagliati, and the IOC executive board voted three to two against, with two abstentions. Canadian IOC member Dick Pound was one of the two abstentions
The Canadian Olympic Association immediately appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
Rebagliati claimed that he hadn't smoked marijuana for 10 months, but that on January 31, 1998 he had attended a going-away party with friends in British Columbia and had been subjected to second-hand marijuana smoke
The ultimate reason for overturning the decision was based on a vague definition of marijuana as a controlled substance. IOC doping rules classified marijuana as a "restricted substance", rather than a "prohibited substance". Although FIS had a rule that prohibited unacceptable levels of marijuana, there was no agreement between FIS and the IOC to follow that rule during Olympic competition
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that there because was no written agreement between FIS and the IOC regarding marijuana, the results of Rebagliati's failed test were irrelevant
Rebagliati's medal was "returned" on February 11, although he had never technically relinquished it - when he was informed of the overturned decision, Rebagliati still had the gold medal in his pocket
Rebagliati is now the Director of Snowboard and Ski Operations for Kelowna Mountain