Nicklas Backstrom finally gets his Olympic medal — six months later
That was a long wait.
Six months after he was ruled ineligible for the 2014 Winter Olympics gold-medal game in Sochi, Washington Capitals center and Swedish star Nicklas Backstrom finally received his silver medal on Thursday.
The International Olympic Committee had suspended Backstrom hours before the Feb. 23 gold medal game against Canada, which Canada won 3-0, after he tested positive for an elevated level of pseudoephedrine. Turns out he was simply taking the same allergy medication he has taken for years. He takes Zyrtec-D to help with sinusitis.
The IOC eventually said Backstrom had no intention of improving his performance by taking the substance, deciding in March that he "should be entitled to receive the silver medal and diploma awarded for men's ice hockey."
"While I will always be disappointed that I wasn't able to play in the gold medal game with my fellow countrymen, I'm pleased that my name has been cleared by the IOC," Backstrom said in a statement after he was cleared by the IOC in March. "It is important to me that the IOC has acknowledged that I had asked for and received specific advice from my team doctor that taking this allergy medication would not be a violation.
"In addition, I had disclosed my use of over-the-counter medication prior to being tested."