IOC-saw
GOOD NEWS
Nicklas Backstrom
Games: Sochi '14
Medal:
Event: Ice hockey
Nearly three weeks after the men's hockey final in Sochi, Swedish center Nicklas Backstrom got his silver medal. The 26-year-old Capitals forward had been pulled from his pregame routine, hours before Sweden lost the gold medal game to Canada (3--0), because his urine sample showed elevated levels of pseudoephedrine (SI, March 3) triggered by the allergy medication Zyrtec-D. On March 14 the IOC decided Backstrom had not tried "to improve his performance by taking a prohibited substance," noting he had listed his medication on his doping control form and acted on the advice of his team doctor. The IOC maintained that the ban was "fully justified" but also found Backstrom was entitled to his medal.
STILL BAD NEWS
Rick DeMont
Games: Munich '72
Medal:
Event: 400-m freestyle
Former U.S. Olympic swimmer Rick DeMont is still without his gold medal—from 1972 (SI, Feb. 5, 2001). As a 16-year-old, DeMont won gold in Munich in the 400-meter freestyle, but he had his medal taken away after he tested positive for ephedrine, a banned substance that was in DeMont's asthma medication. He was also prohibited from competing in the 1,500 free, where he held the world record at the time. Like Backstrom, DeMont listed his medication on the appropriate form and followed the advice of team doctors. The USOC cleared and recognized DeMont in '01, but the IOC has yet to acknowledge his achievements, and he remains permanently disqualified after winning gold, which he calls "a tattoo I wear that I can't seem to get off."
PHOTO
BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES (BACKSTROM)
PHOTO
JERRY COOKE FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (DEMONT)