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 the sport of cross-country skiing.[2] She is the founder of Spirit North, 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], and they have two children, Teo and Brynn.

Beckie Scott
Country Canada
Full nameRebecca Scott
Born (1974-08-01) August 1, 1974 (age 49)
Vegreville, Alberta, Canada
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Ski clubVermilion Nordic Ski Club
World Cup career
Seasons13 – (19942006)
Starts129
Podiums15
Wins4
Overall titles0 – (2nd in 2006)
Discipline titles0
Medal record
Women's cross-country skiing
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City 2 × 5 km pursuit
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin Team sprint

Career edit

 
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 edit

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 edit

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

Olympic Games edit

  • 2 medals – (1 gold, 1 silver)
 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 edit

 Year   Age   5 km   10 km   15 km   Pursuit   30 km   Sprint   4 × 5 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
1995 20 42 40 43
1997 22 24 25 27 28 14
1999 24 36 53 29 15
2001 26 26 11 CNX[a] 9 6
2003 28 8 6 9 4
2005 30 13 4 15 12 10
a. 1 Cancelled due to extremely cold weather.

World Cup edit

Season standings edit

 Season   Age 
Overall Distance Long Distance Middle Distance Sprint
1994 19 NC
1995 20 NC
1996 21 NC
1997 22 50 51 50
1998 23 33 43 31
1999 24 44 NC 21
2000 25 15 21 20 9
2001 26 15 17
2002 27 22 10
2003 28 9 10
2004 29 16 23 6
2005 30 18 22 12
2006 31      

Individual podiums edit

  • 4 victories
  • 15 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1 2000–01 14 January 2001   Soldier Hollow, United States 1.0 km Sprint F World Cup 3rd
2 2001–02 19 December 2001   Asiago, Italy 1.5 km Sprint F World Cup 3rd
3 2002–03 19 December 2002   Linz, Austria 1.0 km Sprint F World Cup 3rd
4 15 February 2003   Asiago, Italy 5 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
5 20 March 2003   Borlänge, Sweden 1.0 km Sprint F World Cup 3rd
6 2003–04 12 March 2004   Pragelato, Italy 1.0 km Sprint F World Cup 2nd
7 2005–06 10 December 2005   Vernon, Canada 7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 2nd
8 11 December 2005 1.5 km Sprint F World Cup 1st
9 15 December 2005   Canmore, Canada 10 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
10 17 December 2005 15 km Mass Start C World Cup 1st
11 21 January 2006   Oberstdorf, Germany 7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 1st
12 8 March 2006   Falun, Sweden 5 km + 5 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 3rd
13 9 March 2006   Drammen, Norway 1.0 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd
14 15 March 2006   Changchun, China 1.0 km Sprint F World Cup 2nd
15 19 March 2006   Sapporo, Japan 7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 1st

Team podiums edit

  • 2 podiums – (1 RL, 1 TS)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammate(s)
1 2000–01 13 January 2001   Soldier Hollow, United States 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Renner / Thériault / Fortier
2 2005–06 18 December 2005   Canmore, Canada 6 × 1.2 km Team Sprint C World Cup 2nd Renner

See also edit

References edit

  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. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/beckie-scott-wada-athletes-committee-calls-for-full-russian-ban-1.5388902#:~:text=Olympics-,Beckie%20Scott%2C%20WADA%20Athletes%20Committee%20calls%20for%20full%20Russian%20ban,who%20create%20and%20safeguard%20them.%22. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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. ^ https://canadiansnowsports.com/e/awards/files/John_Semmelink_Award_History_of_Recipients.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  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 benfit from the power of play". CAA Magazine. CAA. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  20. ^ "SCOTT Beckie". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved December 17, 2019.

External links edit