Ross Rebagliati
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Ross Rebagliati (born July 14, 1971 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian professional snowboarder. He turned pro in 1991. He was the first ever to win an Olympic gold medal for this sport at the 1998 Winter Olympics. After he won the gold, he was found to have marijuana in his circulatory system and he was automatically disqualified. This decision was eventually overturned, and he was given back the medal.
On August 2, 2006 Rebagliati filed suit against Canadian television broadcaster CTV. The suit was filed in British Columbia's Supreme Court, and charges CTV with misappropriation of personality, breach of privacy and defamation. Rebagliati claims that a character on their TV series Whistler is based on him and has damaged his image. The character in question, Beck MacKaye, is a blond, blue-eyed, Olympic gold medal-winning snowboarder who lives in Whistler. He also happens to be a blackmailing alcoholic who is involved in a hit-and-run accident that leaves a woman paralyzed. CTV has denied his claims.
Rebagliati is currently training for the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver/Whistler.
