Brad Rock: Medal can end Lund's hair saga

SALT LAKE CITY — Barring further interruption, Zach Lund will soon have this whole big, hairy mess behind him.

If he wins a medal in skeleton, Thursday at the Vancouver Olympics, he can retire the gag lines like "hair today, gone tomorrow" and "winning by a hair" once and for all.

He can simply be Zach Lund, Olympic medalist, rather than flag-bearer for athletes who have been squashed by the system.

Also, he can stop being as cautious as he was two weeks ago when he said, "It's a little nerve wracking; I'm thinking, wow, I'm finally doing this."

Who knew using a hair restoration product would turn into a major melodrama?

Going into the 2006 Olympics, Lund was favored to win the skeleton, but the previous November he tested positive for finasteride, a banned substance that is in Propecia, a product for treating baldness. It's true, Lund was looking for an advantage — but only on his scalp, not on the track.

Isn't that what they promise in the commercials? Grow hair and appear younger! Gain confidence! Attract women!

What did he have to lose... other than his eligibility?

He was banned from the 2006 Winter Games.

Never mind the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the IOC, which placed him on one-year suspension, has since removed finasteride from the World Anti-Doping Agency banned list.

They ruined his first, best chance.

Plus, they never apologized.

"I've moved on," shrugged Lund.

The hardest part for Lund, though, might not actually have been missing the Games. It was that he got labeled a cheater by some.

"Yeah, unfortunately, there are a few people that don't keep up on it enough to know the story for what it is," said Lund. "I know I was vindicated, but at the same time, anyone who does keep up on the sport knows the whole story; they know I got a raw deal."

Lund knew, too, and that's why he almost dropped out. In the four years since the ban, his enthusiasm has waxed and waned. In 2005, he was considered a safe bet to medal in the Olympics; this year he has — pardon the pun — slid all the way to No. 13 in the World Cup standings.