Ross Rebagliati, the Olympic snowboarder who was famously (albeit briefly) stripped of a gold medal in 1998 after testing positive for marijuana, has found a new kind of slippery slope to navigate. Rebagliati recently announced that he will be running for political office in Canada.Rebagliati, 38, is seeking the liberal party nomination in the British Columbia "riding" (the equivalent of an electoral district) of Okanagan-Coquihalla. The riding is currently represented by a member of the conservative party.
So what qualifies Rebagliati for public office? Well, if nothing else, he is very familiar with what it's like to suffer the sting of public opinion. From the Globe and Mail:
The news of Rebagliati's candidacy comes just a few months before Vancouver will serve as host of the 2010 Winter Olympics. According to Rebagliati's web site, he won't be competing in the 2010 Games, but this should come as no surprise, given his age and the fact that he's been retired for roughly a decade."After winning gold in Nagano, it became very political for the moment," (Rebagliati) said.
"Here I am, a 26-year-old thrown into a media frenzy with nobody around me and no media training. It certainly taught me a lot."
Since retiring, Rebagliati -- who was once dubbed "Nickel-bag-li-at-ti" by Jay Leno -- has been involved in real estate and broadcasting, according to the Globe and Mail. The paper also reports that Rebagliati now lives in Kelowna, B.C. with his wife and five-month old son.
Rebagliati won the first-ever snowboarding gold medal (slalom, not halfpipe) at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Rebagliati was stripped of the gold after it was determined he had marijuana in his system, but the decision was eventually overturned, largely because marijuana is not seen as a performance-enhancing drug.
