| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men’s snowboarding | ||
| Competitor for Canada | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1998 Nagano | Giant Slalom |
Ross Rebagliati (born July 14, 1971) is a Canadian professional snowboarder.
Rebagliati was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He turned pro in 1991. He was the first ever to win an Olympic gold medal for Men's Snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics. After winning the gold, he was found to have THC in his circulatory system and he was automatically disqualified. This decision was eventually overturned, largely on the basis that marijuana was not on the list of banned substances, and Rebagliati was given back the medal.[1]
On August 2, 2006 Rebagliati filed suit against Canadian television broadcaster CTV. The suit was filed in the British Columbia 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. CTV denied his claims, but the suit was ultimately settled out of court.[2]
Rebagliati was the subject of full-page coverage in the July 14, 2008 edition of Sports Illustrated, which profiled his life since his Olympic win.
On October 23, 2009, Rebagliati announced that he would seek the federal Liberal Party nomination for the Okanagan—Coquihalla riding, in British Columbia. At the time, political observers suggested that this could be a tough challenge for the former Olympian, as the seat was held by Minister of International Trade, Stockwell Day. [3] On November 19, 2010, Rebagliati formally stepped down as the Liberal candidate. [4]
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