'Sincere and Honest' Baxter Loses Medal Appeal

British skier Alain Baxter today failed in his bid to have his Winter Olympics bronze medal reinstated, but has been cleared of being a drugs cheat.

Baxter finished third in the slalom at Salt Lake City in February but was stripped of the medal - the first ever awarded to a British skier - after he tested positive for the banned substance methamphetamine.

The 28-year-old appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), maintaining that the failed test was a result of him using a nasal inhaler he bought in the United States.

Today the CAS dismissed his appeal to reclaim the bronze medal as an offence had been committed - regardless of intent - but did clear Baxter of wilfully seeking to enhance his performance.

In their report, which is due to published in full later today, the CAS said: "The panel is not without sympathy for Mr Baxter, who appears to be a sincere and honest man who did not intend to obtain a competitive advantage in the race."

Baxter said: "I'm gutted not to be getting my medal back but there's a lot of positive things to come out of this.

"I'm getting things back to normal and in future maybe the policies will change a little bit."

Baxter said even though the decision was "strict and tough", his biggest relief was that "they had cleared my name, that I'm not classed as a cheat".

"I can get back to racing in a month's time and can look forward to racing," he said. "It's been mentally tough in the last eight months."

The Aviemore skier, affectionately known as 'The Highlander', had always protested his innocence, claiming he did not know that the US inhaler differed from the British version he was used to in that it contained the banned substance.

But Baxter has learned a harsh lesson and said in future he would be consulting medical advice before taking any other medicines.

"You just have to get everything checked if you are ill. I was actually ill last week and spent a couple of hours on the phone to the doctor trying to see what medication I can take," he added.

"That is what I have to do every time now.

"My rivals are all now a little bit scared of what can happen if you take some medication."

Baxter is now anticipating a possible change in the ruling on banned substances by the IOC.

"As far as I understand, CAS have advised the International Olympic Committee to look into the rules. Maybe, six months down the line, we will see a change but we will have to wait for that one."

The British Olympic Association have backed Baxter after the CAS decision today. BOA chief executive Simon Clegg said: "We are naturally disappointed to learn of the judgement in respect of the Alain Baxter case.

"We believe that Alain's case could not have been presented more forcefully and for that we are extremely grateful to Michael Beloff QC and Adam Lewis.

"Alain has paid a most severe penalty for a modest mistake and it is clear that the principle of strict liability underscored this decision.

"I know that I can continue to look Alain in the eye with confidence that he did not knowingly take the US Vicks Inhaler to enhance his performance."

The IOC have already taken steps to clarify its position in their new doping rules in place for 2003 - listing both d- and l-rotations of all stimulant categories on their revised regulations.

And the CAS panel recommended that: "The IOC may wish at some time to distinguish between the two isomers of methamphetamine and to introduce a threshold as it has done in the case of other stimulants such as caffeine."