After baring her soul, speedskater Christine Witty will bear the American flag.
Witty, a five-time Olympian, was picked by U.S. athletes to lead the Americans into tonight’s Winter Olympic opening ceremonies.
“It’s an amazing team to be part of,” Witty said. “I can’t think of a bigger honor.”
The selection underscores the radical change in Witty since she divulged the sexual abuse that darkened her Wisconsin childhood. Once a reserved woman lugging a lifelong secret, the three-time medalist said she is now “so much more comfortable in my skin.”
Last year, Witty told a Utah newspaper that she was sexually abused from age 4 to 11 by a friend of the family who had access to her home. The assaults went on until Witty saw a school film that taught her she could say “no.” The man went to prison in 1996.
As the U.S. flag bearer, Witty said she’ll use the moment to urge abuse victims around the world to come forward.
“Gosh, what a great opportunity. I have a platform to talk about something and hopefully do some good in this world,” said Witty, a long tracker who won gold in Salt Lake.
“Abuse of any kind exists because of secrecy. So if I can use this platform to start talking about it … maybe they get the courage to talk about it, just breaking the silence.”
Two Americans suspended
In the quest for a cleaner Olympics, athletes in Turin will have to give more than their Salt Lake predecessors.
The International Olympic Committee plans to conduct 1,200 drug tests at the 2006 Winter Games, 71 percent more than the IOC’s anti-doping screenings in 2002 – including blood and urine draws from the athletes.
The tests include “some new and some refined” technology to hunt for steroids and other illegal enhancers, World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound, said Thursday.
“At least in the Olympics, there’s a genuine effort made to ensure that the competition is fair,” Pound said. “The number of tests is more an affirmation of that desire than it is a widespread suspicion that more people rather than less are (cheating).”
The first hint of a drug scandal came when eight cross country skiers, including two Americans, were suspended for five days after they were found to have excessive hemoglobin levels, the International Ski Federation announced Thursday.
None of the skiers were considered medal contenders, and it was not immediately clear whether any would be kept from competing under the ban.
The American athletes are Kikkan Randall, 23, from Anchorage, Alaska, and Leif Zimmermann, 22, of Bozeman, Mont. The others are Sean Crooks of Canada, Sergey Dalidovich of Belarus, Jean Marc Gaillard of France, Aleksandr Lasutkin of Belarus, Natalia Matveeva of Russia, and Evi Sachenbacher of Germany.
Cross country competition begins Sunday, with the men’s and women’s pursuit, and continues Tuesday with the men’s and women’s team sprint.
Diamonds are out
Softball and baseball lost their bid to be voted back into the Summer Olympics. In July, the IOC put all summer sports through a review vote. Softball and baseball were dropped from the program.
Almost immediately, the two sports’ federations, with help from the U.S., started lobbying for a new vote.
But the decision was reaffirmed Thursday in an IOC vote.
“The dreams of young people from around the world who aspire to compete in the Olympic Games in softball and baseball were dealt a setback today,” U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth said.
He added, “we will continue working with the international federations for these two sports, along with other countries, to see that they are reinstated to the Olympic program at the earliest opportunity.”
Marshalling a new team
The Marshall Islands, a former U.S. territory and nuclear testing site comprising atolls scattered across the Pacific, was accepted Thursday as the 203rd Olympic member.
The IOC approved an executive board proposal to recognize the islands’ national Olympic committee – a step that means athletes from the nation of 60,000 people will have a chance to compete at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
IOC member Kevan Gosper, an Australian who worked with the Marshall Islands in seeking recognition, said he expects a handful of athletes to qualify, possibly in weightlifting, wrestling or tennis.
