Senator Greene-Raine’s B.S. Detector Smells A Phony In IOC Decision

It was great to see ski legend Nancy Greene-Raine wade into the women’s ski jumping controversy this week.

One of the neat things about Greene-Raine is that four decades after her glory days, she has not only kept in touch with what’s going on in Canada sport, she is passionate about it.

CP FILE PHOTO

Nancy Greene-Raine certainly has the bling to back her up.

A Canadian skier succeeds on the slopes and they can expect a congratulatory card from the 1968 Olympic ski champion. If someone’s struggling, it’s not unheard of at all for her to send a message of support and offer a bit of advice.

Another great thing about Greene-Raine is that she has a super keen B.S. detector and she’s not afraid to speak her mind.

That B.S. detector tells her the International Olympic Committee is full of it when they say their reasoning for keeping the women’s ski jumpers out of the 2010 Games is that they’re not ready for prime time because they don’t have enough athletes competing.

As now Senator Greene-Raine noted this week, women’s ski jump has 150 active athletes and that is “far more international competitors than in at least three other sports that were recently accepted into the Olympics.”

It’s been said in this corner before if more women ski jumpers crashed spectacularly on a regular basis – see the new sport of ski cross – or they could wear tighter skin suits, then the IOC would be welcoming them into the fold. As has also been said here, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) couldn’t be bothered to press their cause.

But Nancy Greene is doing just that – and it’s part of what makes her such a great champion.

Clara's Unique Idea of a Vacation: Speaking of athletes of Greene-Raine's ilk, you should really check out Clara Hughes' blog post on her recent adventure mountain climbing with husband Peter Guzman, an impressive athlete in his own right.