Schwarzenegger steroid use generates Olympic buzz

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The decision by Vancouver Winter Olympics organizers to let Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger carry the torch has generated a bit of controversy in Canada over the last couple days, mostly because he has admitted having used steroids during his bodybuilding career, and the officials running the games are trying to take a strong stand against doping. Olympic officials have defended picking Schwarzenegger.

According to a New York Times blogger in Vancouver, the officials have said Schwarzenegger asked to be a torchbearer because he wanted to highlight his work in the environmental arena. Schwarzenegger’s aides in Sacramento said he was asked to carry the torch by British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell.

Schwarzenegger will hand the torch off Friday morning to former Olympic star Sebastian Coe.

[Updated at 5:21 p.m.: Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger’s spokesman, reiterated that the governor did not ask to carry the torch. He said a New York Times blog that said Schwarzenegger ‘appealed to Olympic officials’ to be a torchbearer was meant to convey that the officials found him desirable for the role, and not that he requested it.]

-- Michael Rothfeld in Sacramento