Missy Giove racing in August of 2002 at a NORBA National Series race in Durango, Colorado (Image credit: Rob Karman)
US federal agents took Former downhill World Champion Missy Giove, 37, into their custody on drug charges after they linked her to over 200 pounds of marijuana in a vehicle she was driving in upstate New York.
Along with Giove, Eric Canori, 30, was charged with "conspiring to possess and distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana" according to the Associated Press. The two are being held in custody as they await detention hearings set for Thursday afternoon in Albany.
Authorities discovered the pair's plans following a stop by the Illinois State Police of a woman driving a truck with trailer including 220 pounds of marijuana last weekend. After authorities took over the delivery to Albany, Giove picked it up and headed to the home of Canori, near Saratoga Springs.
A search of Canori's home yielded 150 more pounds of pot plus one million [US] dollars hidden on the premises according to the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Giove was later arrested in nearby Saratoga Lake.
Giove won the downhill World Championships in Vail in 1994. She also took the silver medal three times at the worlds in 1993, 1996 and 2002 and was twice World Cup overall champion. She retired near the end of the 2003 season. She was known as "The Missle" and wore a distinctive piranha necklace.
