Beckie Scott

By the time three-time Olympian Beckie Scott retired in 2006, she was Canada’s most decorated cross-country skier.

Scott reached the pinnacle of the sport when she became the first Canadian — and first North American woman — to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. She captured gold at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, having initially finished third. The athletes who placed first and second were later disqualified for doping violations, upgrading Scott’s bronze to gold.

Four years later, at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy, she added a silver medal in the team sprint with Sara Renner. She also placed fourth in the sprint, sixth in the 15-kilometre skiathlon and 10th in the 4×5-kilometre relay.

In 22 career starts at the FIS world championships between 1994 and 2006, Scott’s top results were two fourth-place finishes — in the 1.5 km sprint in 2003 and the 2×7.5 km pursuit in 2005. She reached the World Cup podium 15 times in her career, including nine podiums — and four victories — in her final season.

Scott is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and Canadian Ski Hall of Fame. She is also a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence and holds honorary doctor of laws degrees from the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia. She frequently appears as a broadcast analyst for CBC Sports.

Scott joined the World Anti-Doping Agency’s athlete committee in 2005 and became an influential advocate for clean sport. In 2012, she was appointed to WADA’s executive committee. She was elected to the International Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission in 2006 for an eight-year term and later served on the IOC coordination commissions for the 2012 Youth Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck and the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. She also serves on the board of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

Now based in Canmore, Alta., Scott married American cross-country skier and three-time Olympian Justin Wadsworth. The couple has two children.

She is the founder and CEO of Spirit North, an organization dedicated 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, Utah, U.S.; 3rd place, 1.5 km, World Cup, Asiago, Italy
• 2002 – 3rd place, 1 km, World Cup, Linz, Austria; 1st place, pursuit classic 5 km, Olympic Winter Games, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
• 2003 – 2nd place, 5 km, World Cup, Asiago, Italy; 2nd place, 1 km, World Cup, Borlänge, Sweden; 4th place, 1.5 km, World Ski Championships, Val di Fiemme, Italy
• 2004 – 2nd place, 1 km, World Cup, Pragelato, Italy
• 2005 – 2nd place, 1.3 km, World Cup, Vernon, B.C.; 2nd place, 2×7.5 km pursuit, World Cup, Vernon, B.C.; 2nd place, 10 km, World Cup, Canmore, Alta.; 1st place, 15 km, World Cup, Canmore, Alta.; 2nd place, 6×1.2 km relay, World Cup, Canmore, Alta.; 4th place, pursuit, World Ski Championships, Oberstdorf, Germany
• 2006 – 1st place, 2×7.5 km pursuit, World Cup, Oberstdorf, Germany; 3rd place, 2×5 km pursuit, World Cup, Falun, Sweden; 2nd place, 1 km sprint, World Cup, Drammen, Norway; 2nd place, 1 km sprint, World Cup, Changchun, China; 1st place, 2×7.5 km pursuit, 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.