Alain Baxter, 28-year-old Scot, nicknamed The Highlander, won Great Britain's first ever Olympic medal in alpine skiing when he finished third in yesterday's men's slalom at Salt Lake City.

Baxter finished eighth in the first run, climbing to third in the second to finish 1.26 seconds behind French winner Jean-Pierre Vidal. Vidal's compatriot Sebastien Amiez was second.

This was the best British alpine result ever, beating Georgina Hathorn's 4th in the Women's Slalom in 1968 and Martin Bell's 8th in the 1988 downhill.

Baxter's shock success was Britain's third medal of the Games, following the women curling team's gold and skeleton slider Alex Coomber's bronze. The three-medal haul for Britain (after the curling gold and skeleton bronze) is Great Britain's best result at the Winter Olympics since 1936.

The result is all the more remarkable given Baxter's unexeptional form in the lead up to Salt Lake. He had finished last season on a high, finishing in 4th in the final World Cup race of the season. This year however, he had previously failed to finish in the top 15.

Speaking later, Baxter said: "It's pretty cool. I struggled all year with my equipment and I was losing confidence. But I knew after last season's results that it was possible.

Baxter made headlines earlier in the Games when he was forced to change his hairstyle, after dying his hair blue and white in the shape of Scotland's national flag. Ski auctions organised by previous racers in the last two years at Christie's have helped provide all important funds for Baxter.

Alain's younger half-brother Noel finished 21st. Could 2006 see them both on the podium?

Olympic Men¹s Slalom

Gold - VIDAL, Jean Pierre (FRA) 48.01 53.05 1¹41.06 --
Silver - AMIEZ, Sebastien (FRA) 50.16 51.66 1¹41.82 +0.76
Bronze - BAXTER, Alain (GBR) 50.16 52.16 1¹42.32 +1.26

21 - BAXTER, Noel (GBR) 53.66 55.98 1¹49.64 +8.58
23 - TRAYNER, Gareth (GBR) 54.58 56.33 1¹50.91 +9.85

Useful Links:
Salt Lake City 2002: Schedule of Events
Official Site

Curling Gold Medal (22/02/02)
Green 29th in GS (22/02/02)
Alpine Event Summary (21/02/02)
Baxter's hair causes political crisis (20/02/02)
Alcott learning curve continues (19/02/02)
Alternative Olympics (18/02/02)
14th Place for Alcott (14/02/02)
Ross Green best ever in Combined (13/02/02)
Alpine Event Summary (12/02/02)
Opening Ceremony Report (11/02/02)
Chalet Girl Olympian (07/02/02)
Special Salt Lake Update (04/02/02)
British Alpine Team (04/02/02)
Soccer at Winter Olympics? (December 2001)
Security increase at Salt Lake City (November 2001)
Salt Lake games to go ahead (September 2001)
No booze at Olympics? (March 2001)

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