The alpine skier Dave Ryding has suggested he might cut his medal in half and give it to his “hero” Alain Baxter, who was controversially stripped of bronze in 2002, if he makes the podium at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Ryding made the pledge as he was named as one of Team GB’s two flagbearers for Friday’s opening ceremony, alongside the curler Eve Muirhead. Both athletes will be competing in their fourth Games.
Baxter, who lost his medal after he tested positive for a stimulant contained in a Vicks nasal inhaler bought in Salt Lake City that was not in the same product sold in the UK, is now working as one of Ryding’s assistant coaches. Ryding, who recently won his first World Cup race, said he wanted to give something back to the man who inspired him to become an alpine skier.
“Alain is working with my team now,” he said. “He’s one of the assistant coaches. I remember growing up watching him. I was then fortunate enough to do a few months before he retired – they put me on to his team for a few months so I knew him quite well. I still remember watching him win the medal and it ignited something inside me whether it was passion, excitement, thrill. I don’t know what it was.
“But I can still remember really getting this feeling and Alain will always be – whatever I achieve, Alain for me will be here because that’s how you perceive your heroes. If he didn’t do what he did in Salt Lake, who knows if I would have had the drive, the belief to do what I did?”
Even though Baxter’s medal was taken away, Ryding said that it had not tarnished Baxter’s legacy in his eyes. “What went on after that was proven that it shouldn’t have been taken away and it was such unfortunate circumstances,” he said.
“God help us that no one has to go through it again. It affected our sport. It affected him massively. If I was to get a medal, I think the best thing I could do was cut it in half and give him half of it.”
Asked about carrying the flag, Ryding said: “I never dreamed of it. I was shocked to be asked. I am beyond proud to lead out the team.”
Muirhead, who will lead the women’s curling team, expressed her shock and delight at being selected to carry the flag alongside Ryding. “To be asked to be one of the two flagbearers, it’s honestly like a dream come true,” she said. “It has been a rollercoaster to get here. I feel so honoured.”
Muirhead also praised the mixed doubles team of Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds, who are still in a good position with two wins and a defeat after beating the Canada team 6-4 and losing to Switzerland 8-7 on the second day of competition.
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“I don’t think there is anything stopping us coming away with three medals in the curling,” Muirhead said. “Bruce and the men’s team are the best in the world. And for us, we are capable of beating everyone out there.”
Team GB chef de mission, Georgie Harland, confirmed that 28 of Britain’s 50 athletes for the Games are now in Beijing, and said none of them had tested positive for Covid since arriving.
“The talent is there to give us our best performance at a Winter Olympics,” she said.
