Beckie Scott

By the time that three-time Olympian Beckie Scott retired in 2006, she was Canada’s most decorated cross-country ski racer in the history of the sport.

Beckie reached the pinnacle of the cross country ski racing when she became the first Canadian – and North American – woman to win an Olympic medal in the sport, when she won gold at Salt Lake City in 2002 (initially she finished in third but later the first and second place finishers were stripped of their medals for doping violations). 

Four years later she claimed a silver medal at the 2006 Torino Olympic Games and at her final Olympic Games at Turin 2006, Scott won a silver medal in the team sprint with Sara Renner and also finished fourth in the sprint, sixth in the 15km skiathlon and 10th in the 4x5km relay. 

In 22 career starts at the FIS world championships from 1994 to 2006, Scott’s highlights were a fourth in 2003 (1.5 km sprint) and 2005 (2×7.5km pursuit). She had a total of 15 career World Cup podiums, nine of which were in her final season and included four victories.

Beckie is also an Officer of the Order of Canada, and an inducted member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in addition to now a member of the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame. She is a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence, holds Honorary Doctorate of Laws degrees from the Universities of Alberta and British Columbia and frequently works for CBC Sports as a broadcast analyst.

Scott joined the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) athlete committee in 2005, becoming an influential lobbyist, and in 2012 was appointed to their executive committee. Elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission in 2006 for an eight-year term, Scott was a member of the IOC’s Coordination for the Youth Olympic Winter Games for Innsbruck 2012 and Olympic Winter Games at Sochi 2014. She also serves on the board of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

Settling in Canmore, Alberta, Scott married American cross-country skier and three-time Olympian Justin Wadsworth and had two children.

Beckie is also the founder and CEO of Spirit North, an organization committed to improving the lives of Indigenous children and youth through the transformative power of sport and play. Spirit North is recognized as one of Canada’s leading sport-for-social-development organizations.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• 2001 – 3rd place 1 km, World Cup, Soldier Hollow, USA; 3rd place 1.5 km, World Cup, Asiago, Italy.
• 2002 – 3rd place 1 km, World Cup, Linz, Austria.
• 2002 – 1st place  place Pursuit Classic 5km, 2002 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City, USA
• 2003 – 2nd place 5 km, World Cup, Asiago, Italy; 2003 – 2nd place 1 km, World Cup, Borlaenge, Sweden; 2003 – 4th place 1.5 km, World Ski Championships, Val di Flemme, Italy.
• 2004 – 2nd place 1 km, World Cup, Pragelato, Italy
• 2005 – 2nd place 1.3 km, World Cup, Vernon, Canada; 2005 – 2nd place 2 x 7.5 km, World Cup, Vernon, BC; 2005 – 2nd place 10 km, World Cup, Canmore, Alberta; 2005 – 1st place 15 km, World Cup, Canmore, Alberta; 2005 – 2nd place 6 x 1.2 km, World Cup, Canmore, Alberta; 2005 – 4th place Pursuit, World Ski Championships, Oberstdorf, Germany.
• 2006 – 1st place 2 x 7.5 km, World Cup, Oberstdorf, Germany; 2006 – 3rd place 2 x 5 km, World Cup, Falun, Sweden; 2006 – 2nd place 1 km, World Cup, Drammen, Norway; 2006 – 2nd place 1 km, World Cup, Changchun, China; 2006 – 1st place 2 x 7.5 km, World Cup, Sapporo, Japan

Note: The information gathered in this biography was compiled from a number of sources; it may not be inclusive of all accomplishments. Copyright © Canadian Ski Hall of Fame & Museum. For personal and/or educational use only. All rights reserved.