Alain Baxter
Encyclopedia
Alain Baxter is a professional skier from Scotland
. He specialises in the slalom
discipline.
. He is named after the 70s French
skiing star Alain Penz. At 16 years of age, he was selected to the British Alpine Ski Team in 1991, and he steadily worked his way through the world rankings, making the top 100 in time for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics
.
, Baxter made British Olympic history by becoming the first British skier to win a medal (Bronze) in alpine skiing. He sparked controversy at the time, by dying his hair with the Saltire
cross of St Andrew: the flag of Scotland
. The British Olympic Association
ordered him to remove this symbol of his nationality, because they wanted to project an image of "Britishness
", but the blue dye he used to try to obliterate the white saltire was a different shade, and the saltire pattern could still clearly be seen when he won his medal.
Alain returned home to Aviemore
to a hero's welcome and a parade around the town in an open top bus.
- albeit the inactive levorotary isomer of methamphetamine - levomethamphetamine (aka levMethamphetamine), an isomer with no significant stimulant properties. After an appeal, the IOC declared that Baxter was disqualified from the competition and he would have to return his medal. Reports suggested that Benjamin Raich
(the Austrian athlete that received the medal following the IOC's decision), gave his bronze medal to Alain suggesting it was rightly his, but this has been denied by Baxter.http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/notw/scottish/scottish_listings/scottish_music/721873/Ski-star-Alain-Baxter-reveals-all-about-life-after-that-controversy.html
Baxter was able to confirm later that the trace had originated from a Vicks
inhaler bought in the United States
. He had been unaware that the contents were different from those found in the UK version. The International Ski Federation
accepted his explanation and banned him for the minimum of 3 months.
in the USA Vicks levMethamphetamine is an inactive isomer
of methamphetamine
.
and other expert witnesses explained that it was a decongestant, and had negligible stimulant properties. The quote was "you could take a bucket of it with minimal effect". Dr Don Catlin
maintained that the banned list did not specify isomers so all forms were on the banned list and the strict liability doctrine applied. This was particularly controversial since 100 U.S. athletes who won 19 medals tested positive for stimulants at his laboratory, and were cleared to continue competing, and Dr. Catlin was named as part of a 3 man committee that routinely allowed U.S. Olympians such as Carl Lewis
to continue competing despite failing drugs tests. The vast majority of athletes named in Wade Exum's papers tested positive for stimulants found in over-the-counter cold medicines. Most were cleared after explaining that they had taken the substances inadvertently.
The Baxter Appeal team headed up by Professor Arnold Becket, a former member of the IOC medial commission, thought Dr Calin's position was "inconsistent". He stated, "The things we are being told about in the USA make me very angry, particularly in relation to Alain Baxter’s case. He did not take a banned substance, as levAmphetamine was not on the list, but it was Dr Catlin’s evidence which the appeal committee believed."
His best result in World Cup is 4th at Åre
11 March 2001 and he had 3 other top 10 finishes in 2001.
His brother, Noel Baxter
is also an alpine skier. His cousin Lesley McKenna
is a leading professional snowboarder and winner of two World Cups.
, and turned out for Kincraig Shinty Club
when that club was still active.http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/alba/foghlam/airsplaoid/backpack/ac_aviemore.shtml
Alain won the 2005 British Superstars
event, defeating Du'aine Ladejo
who had edged Baxter out for the 2003 title. Alain made his debut on a track bike racing at Manchester Velodrome
on 5th December 2009, at part of the Revolution (cycling series) - Season 6. He set himself a goal of racing in the Commonwealth Games
in 2010 which he unfortunately did not achieve.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He specialises in the slalom
Slalom skiing
Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...
discipline.
Background
He is the son of Iain and Sue Baxter, who were both British Ski Team members, and was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. He is named after the 70s French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
skiing star Alain Penz. At 16 years of age, he was selected to the British Alpine Ski Team in 1991, and he steadily worked his way through the world rankings, making the top 100 in time for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
.
Salt Lake City Olympics
In the Salt Lake City Olympics of 20022002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
, Baxter made British Olympic history by becoming the first British skier to win a medal (Bronze) in alpine skiing. He sparked controversy at the time, by dying his hair with the Saltire
Saltire
A saltire, or Saint Andrew's Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter ex . Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross....
cross of St Andrew: the flag of Scotland
Flag of Scotland
The Flag of Scotland, , also known as Saint Andrew's Cross or the Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland. As the national flag it is the Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, which is the correct flag for all individuals and corporate bodies to fly in order to demonstrate both...
. The British Olympic Association
British Olympic Association
The British Olympic Association is the national Olympic committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1905 in the House of Commons, and at that time consisted of seven national governing body members from the following sports: fencing, life-saving, cycling, skating, rowing,...
ordered him to remove this symbol of his nationality, because they wanted to project an image of "Britishness
Britishness
Britishness is the state or quality of being British, or of embodying British characteristics, and is used to refer to that which binds and distinguishes the British people and forms the basis of their unity and identity, or else to explain expressions of British culture—such as habits, behaviours...
", but the blue dye he used to try to obliterate the white saltire was a different shade, and the saltire pattern could still clearly be seen when he won his medal.
Alain returned home to Aviemore
Aviemore
Aviemore is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popular for skiing and other winter sports, and for hill-walking in the Cairngorm...
to a hero's welcome and a parade around the town in an open top bus.
Medal controversy
A few days after his return home, Alain discovered that he had failed a drug test. His sample contained a trace amount of methamphetamineMethamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
- albeit the inactive levorotary isomer of methamphetamine - levomethamphetamine (aka levMethamphetamine), an isomer with no significant stimulant properties. After an appeal, the IOC declared that Baxter was disqualified from the competition and he would have to return his medal. Reports suggested that Benjamin Raich
Benjamin Raich
Benjamin Raich is a champion alpine ski racer who won gold medals in the giant slalom and slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics of Turin, Italy...
(the Austrian athlete that received the medal following the IOC's decision), gave his bronze medal to Alain suggesting it was rightly his, but this has been denied by Baxter.http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/notw/scottish/scottish_listings/scottish_music/721873/Ski-star-Alain-Baxter-reveals-all-about-life-after-that-controversy.html
Baxter was able to confirm later that the trace had originated from a Vicks
Vicks
Vicks is a line of over-the-counter medications owned by the American company Procter & Gamble. Vicks manufactures NyQuil and its sister medication, DayQuil. The Vicks brand also produces Formula 44 cough medicines, cough drops, VapoRub, and a number of inhaled breathing treatments...
inhaler bought in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He had been unaware that the contents were different from those found in the UK version. The International Ski Federation
International Ski Federation
The International Ski Federation, known by its name in French, Fédération Internationale de Ski is the main international organisation for ski sports...
accepted his explanation and banned him for the minimum of 3 months.
International Ski Federation appeal
The British Ski and Snowboard Federation appealed to the Court of Arbitration in Sport. The appeal was successful and his ban was overturned. This gave the Baxter camp great hope for the next appeal to have his medal returned.Olympic appeal
The British Olympic Association assisted with, and publicly funded, an appeal against the loss of his medal. The basis of the appeal was that the form of methamphetamineMethamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
in the USA Vicks levMethamphetamine is an inactive isomer
Isomer
In chemistry, isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulas. Isomers do not necessarily share similar properties, unless they also have the same functional groups. There are many different classes of isomers, like stereoisomers, enantiomers, geometrical...
of methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
.
Strict liablity doctrine
Strict liability doctrine athletes are liable if they inadvertently take any form of potentially performance enhancing substance, and a large number of athletes have lost medals as a result. Cold cures and other over the counter medicines are the most common sources of trace levels of amphetamines and other stimulants.Medal appeal controversy
The medal appeal heard by the Court of Arbitration in Sport in Lausanne rested on whether levAmphetamine was performance enhancing VicksVicks
Vicks is a line of over-the-counter medications owned by the American company Procter & Gamble. Vicks manufactures NyQuil and its sister medication, DayQuil. The Vicks brand also produces Formula 44 cough medicines, cough drops, VapoRub, and a number of inhaled breathing treatments...
and other expert witnesses explained that it was a decongestant, and had negligible stimulant properties. The quote was "you could take a bucket of it with minimal effect". Dr Don Catlin
Don Catlin
Don H. Catlin, M.D. is an anti-doping scientist and one of the founders of modern drug-testing in sport. -Career:Catlin has overseen testing for performance-enhancing drugs at the three most recent Olympics held in the United States since the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, as well as testing...
maintained that the banned list did not specify isomers so all forms were on the banned list and the strict liability doctrine applied. This was particularly controversial since 100 U.S. athletes who won 19 medals tested positive for stimulants at his laboratory, and were cleared to continue competing, and Dr. Catlin was named as part of a 3 man committee that routinely allowed U.S. Olympians such as Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...
to continue competing despite failing drugs tests. The vast majority of athletes named in Wade Exum's papers tested positive for stimulants found in over-the-counter cold medicines. Most were cleared after explaining that they had taken the substances inadvertently.
The Baxter Appeal team headed up by Professor Arnold Becket, a former member of the IOC medial commission, thought Dr Calin's position was "inconsistent". He stated, "The things we are being told about in the USA make me very angry, particularly in relation to Alain Baxter’s case. He did not take a banned substance, as levAmphetamine was not on the list, but it was Dr Catlin’s evidence which the appeal committee believed."
Ski racing results
While his form has never quite reached the same heights as they did in Salt Lake City, Alain Baxter is still the highest ranked and most recognisable male alpine skier in the UK. He was well respected by the more established skiing nations and his talent is the best the UK has ever produced.His best result in World Cup is 4th at Åre
Åre
Åre is a locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 1,260 inhabitants in 2005. It is however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpen. 25% of the municipal industry is based on tourism, most notably the downhill...
11 March 2001 and he had 3 other top 10 finishes in 2001.
His brother, Noel Baxter
Noel Baxter
Noel Baxter is a Scottish alpine skier from Aviemore. He is the brother of fellow Alpine skier, Alain Baxter.He represented Britain at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. Despite good form in the 2009-2010 season, he was not picked for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.-References:...
is also an alpine skier. His cousin Lesley McKenna
Lesley McKenna
Lesley McKenna is a British professional snowboarder based in Herten, Germany. McKenna has to date competed in three Winter Olympic Games in 2002, 2006 and 2010 but has not won any medals. At the 2010 games, she crashed in both her qualification runs in the women's halfpipe and finished last...
is a leading professional snowboarder and winner of two World Cups.
Other sports
He is also a keen player of shintyShinty
Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...
, and turned out for Kincraig Shinty Club
Kincraig (Shinty)
Kincraig Shinty Club is a shinty team from Kincraig, Badenoch, Scotland. The club's only team withdrew from North Division 3 in 2007 due to a lack of players, but re-entered the league in 2008, however Kincraig withdrew yet again in 2009...
when that club was still active.http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/alba/foghlam/airsplaoid/backpack/ac_aviemore.shtml
Alain won the 2005 British Superstars
Superstars
Superstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon....
event, defeating Du'aine Ladejo
Du'aine Ladejo
Du'aine Ladejo is an English-born athlete and television personality. In his sports career, he was best known for winning the 400 metres sprint gold medal at the 1994 European Championships and being a member of the United Kingdom and England 400 metre relay squads at the European Championships,...
who had edged Baxter out for the 2003 title. Alain made his debut on a track bike racing at Manchester Velodrome
Manchester Velodrome
Manchester Velodrome is an indoor cycle-racing track or velodrome in Manchester, northwest England. It opened in September 1994 and is the leading indoor Olympic-standard track in the United Kingdom. It houses the National Cycling Centre and British Cycling...
on 5th December 2009, at part of the Revolution (cycling series) - Season 6. He set himself a goal of racing in the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
in 2010 which he unfortunately did not achieve.