PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA—Canadian ski cross racer Dave Duncan is apologizing for “behaviour that demonstrated poor judgment” after being released from jail following an alleged drunken joyride at the Pyeongchang Games.
The Canadian Olympic Committee confirmed in a statement Saturday that Duncan, his wife Maja and Canadian technical coach William Raine had been detained by police in South Korea and were now released. The statement came after an investigator with the Gangwon Provincial Police Department told The Canadian Press the two Canadians and an American woman were arrested for allegedly drunk driving and stealing a car.
A joint statement from the Duncans offering an apology did not offer specifics, saying only their behaviour “was not up to the standards expected of us as members of the Canadian Olympic Team or as Canadians.” But Raine singled out “the owner of the vehicle that was involved” in his statement.
“I would like to apologize profusely for my inexcusable actions,” Raine said. “Words are not enough to express how sorry I am. I have let my teammates, friends and my family down.”
Raine is the son of Canadian skiing legend Nancy Greene.
PYEONGCHANG — Canadian ski cross racer Dave Duncan is apologizing for “behaviour that demonstrated poor judgement” after being released from jail following an alleged drunken joyride at the Pyeongchang Games.
The Canadian Olympic Committee confirmed in a statement Saturday that Duncan, his wife Maja and Canadian technical coach William Raine had been detained by police in South Korea and were now released. The statement came after an investigator with the Gangwon Provincial Police Department told The Canadian Press the two Canadians and an American woman were arrested for allegedly drunk driving and stealing a car.
A joint statement from the Duncans offering an apology did not offer specifics, saying only their behaviour “was not up to the standards expected of us as members of the Canadian Olympic Team or as Canadians.” But Raine singled out “the owner of the vehicle that was involved” in his statement.
“I would like to apologize profusely for my inexcusable actions,” Raine said. “Words are not enough to express how sorry I am. I have let my teammates, friends and my family down.”
Raine is the son of Canadian skiing legend Nancy Greene.
Police say the group stole a car while drunk and drove it to the athletes’ village. Detective Heejun Lee told The Canadian Press that Duncan was not the driver of the vehicle.
He said the driver had a blood alcohol level of .162 — the legal limit is .05 — and the vehicle stolen was a Hummer.
One of the people in the vehicle was passed out when arrested, he said.
Drunk driving in South Korea can result in imprisonment up to three years or a fine of up to $11,750 Canadian.
Duncan, a 35-year-old from London, Ont., was fourth in the men’s ski cross small final on Wednesday, putting him eighth overall.
The incident is a black mark on what has been Canada’s best-ever performance at a Winter Olympics with 28 medals won, including Sebastien Toutant winning big air gold on Saturday.
One of the Canadian team’s slogans for the Pyeongchang Games is “Be Virtuous, Be Victorious, Be Olympic.”
“We expect our athletes and team members to conduct themselves responsibly and in keeping with our Canadian and Olympic values,” Canadian Olympic Committee CEO Chris Overholt said in the statement released Sunday. “We are deeply disappointed in the behaviours of these individuals. All team members are expected to respect the laws of South Korea and all places we compete in around the world.”
The COC abruptly cancelled a scheduled news conference Saturday morning with women’s ski cross racers Kelsey Serwa and Brittany Phelan, who had won gold and silver respectively the previous day.
The Canadian Press
Canadian ski-cross Olympian Dave Duncan, his wife, and his coach are offering apologies after they were arrested in Pyeongchang for allegedly stealing a vehicle and drunk driving.
Duncan, his wife Maja Duncan, and manager Willy Raine were released from police custody late Saturday.
They had been arrested in the early hours of the day for allegedly stealing a Hummer vehicle that had been left idling and driving it to the athletes’ village.
The Canadian Olympic Committee released a statement Saturday to say while Korean police have released the three, they are disappointed in their team members’ actions.
“We expect our athletes and team members to conduct themselves responsibly and in keeping with our Canadian and Olympic values,” the statement read. “We are deeply disappointed in the behaviours of these individuals. All team members are expected to respect the laws of South Korea and all places we compete in around the world.”
The stolen vehicle was found an hour after being taken. Police allege Raine had been at the wheel, with Duncan and his wife in the back seat. One of the people in the vehicle was passed out when police arrived, the Canadian Press reports.
Police allege Raine had a blood alcohol level of 0.16 per cent. The legal limit in South Korea is 0.05 per cent.
In a statement, Duncan and his wife said they were “deeply” sorry.
“We engaged in behaviour that demonstrated poor judgement and was not up to the standards expected of us as Members of the Canadian Olympic Team or as Canadians,” they said.
Raine also apologized for his “inexcusable” actions.
“Words are not enough to express how sorry I am. I have let my teammates, friends and my family down. I would also like to apologize to the owner of the vehicle that was involved,” he said.
It is not clear whether charges will still be laid Drunk driving convictions in South Korea can result in imprisonment up to three years, or a large fine.
Duncan, 35, came in fourth in the men's ski cross small final on Wednesday, placing him eighth overall.
Raine, 48, is the son of Canadian skiing legend Nancy Greene, who won two medals at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics and is now a Conservative senator.
CTV News’ Genevieve Beauchemin says there are many questions about how the trio found themselves outside a bar with no means of transportation back to the athletes’ village.
She said the incident had everyone talking at Canada House, where athletes and coaches celebrated Canada’s record Winter Games medal haul and watched the men’s hockey team final bronze-winning game.
“The story has dampened spirits somewhat,” she told CTV News Channel from Pyeongchang Saturday night.
Skicross racer David Duncan has apologized for "behaviour that demonstrated poor judgement'' in a press release. Duncan was one of three people who were arrested and detained for drunk driving and stealing a car at the Pyeongchang Olympics on Friday night.
CBC initally reported Canadian that Duncan, his wife and manager allegedly stole a car while drunk and drove it to the athletes' village.
"It was cold and the car was running so we took it," the athlete reportedly said at the time of arrest.
Canadian Olympic Cttee confirms what police have told CBC and S.Korean media reports that there is a police investigation here involving a Canadian athlete, his wife + mgr. Not releasing names yet. #cbc #breaking #cbcolympics #pyeongchang2018 #olympics pic.twitter.com/xXAUAYnjnz — Nil Köksal (@nilkoksalcbc) February 24, 2018
Canadian Olympic Committee CEO Chris Overholt was asked about the incident Saturday afternoon during a news conference announcing speedskater Kim Boutin as the country's flag-bearer for the closing ceremony.
Overholt confirmed that there was an investigation underway but he wouldn't disclose any details.
"There'll be an appropriate time to do that, it's not now, it's an evolving matter," said Overholt. "We want to be respectful of all parties involved and when the time comes, we'll have further comment I'm sure."
Detective Heejun Lee told The Canadian Press the driver of the vehicle had a blood alcohol level of .162 — the legal limit is .05 — and the vehicle stolen was a Hummer that was idling at the time according to Korean media reports.
One of the people in the vehicle was passed out when arrested, he said.
Drunk driving in South Korea can result in imprisonment up to three years or a fine of up to $11,750 Canadian.
Canadian skier Dave Duncan was arrested in Korea, according to the CBC.
Duncan, a 35-year-old from London, Ont., was fourth in the men's ski cross small final on Wednesday, putting him eighth overall.
Overholt did not provide specifics when asked about the transportation provided for athletes at an Olympics.
"I can't speak to the specifics of the circumstance and what may have led to the situation," he said.
"We have a transport plan for every Games, we work hard at all of that to be ready for everything in the context of our participation here, so all those things are true, but again I'm not familiar enough with the circumstances enough to tell you what happened in this case."
There'll be an appropriate time to do that, it's not now, it's an evolving matter. Chris Overholt, Canadian Olympic Committee CEO
The alleged incident is a black mark on what has been Canada's best-ever performance at a Winter Olympics with 28 medals won, including Sebastien Toutant winning big air gold on Saturday. One of the Canadian slogans for the Pyeongchang Games is "Be Virtuous, Be Victorious, Be Olympic."
The COC abruptly cancelled a scheduled news conference Saturday morning with women's ski cross racers Kelsey Serwa and Brittany Phelan, who had won gold and silver respectively the previous day.
With files from HuffPost Korea, Canadian Press
Also on HuffPost Canada:
