Losing my medal still hurts

THE Scots ski star, 36, has hung up his salopettes and joined the BBC as a pundit on their Winter Olympics coverage. But The Highlander still has ambitions to be a cyclist - although he won't be doing any more saucy naked calendars...

The Winter Olympics is going to be a bit different for you this time isn't it?

Now I'm retired I'll be a skiing pundit on the BBC's coverage from Vancouver. I'll also do a bit for BBC online before, during and after it all - but the main focus is on race day.

Would you have been competing if it hadn't been for your back injury?

That was the plan. Retiring was a tough decision but I think all round it was the right one. It didn't really hit me until I looked at the race calendar in October, saw the first slalom was in Finland, got this weird feeling and thought, 'S***, I really like that hill!' But I'm used to it now.

How did you get involved in TV?

If I had some free time at a competition, the BBC or Eurosport would ask me to do a bit of commentary. Then one of the commentators couldn't make a race last year and they found out I was injured at home, so they asked me to help out.

Do you still get a rush of adrenaline when you hear the beeps as a skier is about to charge out of the start gate?

Yes, and as I know a lot of the guys it makes it different for me. Up there at the start, you may have a few technical thoughts but the main focus is simply to go as fast as you can - that's it.

A Brit always captures the nation's heart at the Winter Olympics, like Eddie The Eagle, Rhona Martin or yourself. Will anyone do that this year?

I'm a big fan of Chemmy Alcott. I'd say giant slalom and the combined - where the times of one downhill race and one slalom race are added together - are her biggest hopes.

What was it like that day at Salt Lake City in 2002 when you finished third in the slalom, becoming the first Briton to win an Olympic ski medal?

I came eighth in the first run, not bad from a starting spot of 20th, and knew I had to hammer it second time. I made a couple of wee mistakes, nothing major, came in second fastest at the time and thought, 'Not bad... eighth or ninth at worst'. But then people were going slower, others were crashing and I was actually away in a tent sorting my boots when I thought, 'Hang on, I'm still second, and there's only three or four left. I better start watching more closely!' Then Bode Millar straddled a gate and that was me secured a bronze. Incredible! I got goose bumps and an amazing feeling went through my whole body. You've worked for something your whole life and you've pulled it off.

You then lost your medal after testing positive for methamphetamine found in a Vicks inhaler you bought in the US. You were later cleared by the International Ski Federation, but what was the strain like?

I tried my best not to let it affect me, but obviously deep down it hurt - and sometimes it still does. Everyone cleared me except the International Olympic Committee, and all it would have taken was for them to understand that I wasn't trying to cheat... it was a Vicks inhaler. They weren't listening though, and I lost my medal. What was great was returning the following November and coming third in my first race. I also beat Benni Raich of Austria, who was fourth at Salt Lake and was given my medal. It was a big relief.

Is it true Raich gave you back the medal?

I didn't hear it directly from him, but his management had been in touch with mine and that was the idea. That would have been amazing. But it never happened and I know he got presented with the medal in Vienna.

Your cousin Lesley McKenna is at the Games competing in snowboarding. Did you push each other on as kids?

Lesley started as a skier so we trained together and were on the same teams. So my inside knowledge should be handy.

Have you ever been to Vancouver?

Never. The slalom tour didn't take us there. It's a shame as I've a feeling the hill would've been good for me. It's a medium steepness and you can let it rip.

You got your first skis when you were two. What about your kids, Kerr and Brooke?

My son was also skiing at two. He turned three in November and now has his first set of proper skis. My daughter Brooke is 15 months - but she's just into sledging.

How's your bid to be a pro cyclist going?

It just started out as me having a shot, then the Scottish Institute of Sport gave me a place on their talent transfer programme and I suddenly realised, 'This could be quite serious'. I feel like I'm 16 again, starting out skiing. I don't qualify for Lottery financial help, so I've been funding myself. But I'm looking for money as I need to spend a couple of days a week training at the Manchester velodrome. Right now though it's the ski season and I can earn money through skiing - that's what I have to do for my family. I'd love to get all the way with cycling but I can't do it half- a***d and I need some help.

You impressed on a bike when you won Channel Five's Superstars in 2005. So are skiers the tough guys of sport?

To be a skier you need co-ordination, skill, balance and speed - and we have done well in Superstars around the world. It was during Superstars that the guy who sorted the bikes said, 'You should have a shot in a velodrome'. And that got me thinking...

Your Ski Stig clip on YouTube has over 90,000 hits. How did that come about?

My sponsors Head organised it for the opening of a ski centre in Hemel Hempstead, Herts. I wasn't sure, but it ended up pretty good.

And will you do any more naked calendars?

I was just getting some updated photos for my website and Trevor Yerbury, the photographer who has done a lot of work with nudes, asked if I'd be interested. I wasn't sure, but then we did it as a fundraising calendar. Now I keep my gear on as the face of Dare 2 Be ski clothing.

The Winter Olympics is live on BBC TV, radio, online, iPlayer and mobile from Friday.

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