CANADA'S REBAGLIATI GETS WAIVER FOR GAMES

Gold medallist who admitted drug use given 4-month pass to travel to U.S.

Canada's gold medal snowboarder Ross Rebagliati, denied access to the
U.S. for his positive marijuana test, is going to Salt Lake City
after all.

Mr. Rebagliati was given a four-month waiver to enter the U.S. after
he went to a border crossing in Surrey, B.C., yesterday morning with
his lawyer.

Mr. Rebagliati, who has regularly travelled to the U.S. since the
1998 marijuana test, needed the waiver -- complete with a doctor's
note guaranteeing that he has been drug-free for the past 30 days --
in order to cross the border.

Yesterday Mr. Rebagliati said was going to the opening ceremony.

"I've been told I'll be sitting next to Wayne Gretzky. It's a huge
thing for me. Just a couple of days ago I didn't think I'd get the
chance to go at all."

Mr. Rebagliati, who won the gold medal when snowboarding debuted as
an Olympic event at Nagano, Japan, in 1998, had his medal taken away
after a drug test detected a trace amount of cannabis. It was
restored after Mr. Rebagliati convinced the Olympic committee the
marijuana was in his system because of second-hand smoke at a party
he attended.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Rebagliati was turned away by U.S. Customs at
Vancouver International Airport after a customs officer found his
name flagged in the customs computer system because of his prior
admission that he had used marijuana.

"When I went through this morning with the lawyer, I didn't have any
problems," Mr. Rebagliati said in a phone interview from Seattle
before his flight to Salt Lake City. "We explained what happened and
the customs officer gave me a four-month waiver to come and go."

Roots Canada, his former corporate sponsor, paid for his airplane
ticket and provided him with tickets for the opening ceremony, he
said. Roots western sales and marketing manager Rich Patterson said
the company wanted to send Mr. Rebagliati to the Olympics.