The Skating Scandal

[Niteshift]

Ok, nobody else is bringing it up.......

I didn't want to be the one, since everyone knows France is not my favorite country......

For those not paying attention: The gold in pairs figure skating went to the Russian team, the silver to the Canadian team. The announcers, the crowd and damn near everyone with a brain felt the Canadian team clearly won (the Russians made several mistakes, the Canadians skated a perfect routine). NBC did an online poll. Almost 215,000 people responded...... 96% thought the Canadians won.

Anyway, the next day, the French judge said that the Russian judge coerced her vote, telling her that if she didn't vote for the Russians, he'd vote against the French couple in the ice dancing event (the French are contenders in it). So she (in typical French style), surrendered and voted for the Russians.

Any opinions on what should happen now?

[klar]

I have been following this and I think that the canadian pair deserves a gold and that since it was a coerced vote the russian pair be stripped of their gold. When the crowd that was in the stands at the time of this booed and yelled when the russians recieved higher marks was a good indication that something was amiss. To step out of a jump and have it be soo noticable that anyone can tell that they did not preform the ruotine they wished should have been enough to keep them from the gold. Leave it to a winney judge from a winney country to give them what they do not deserve. As far as the russian judge she should be sisqualified from judging in the olympics due to her "buying votes via implied threats". But then again that is just my opinion.

Klar

[Watchman]

I watched it. I thought that the Canadians had won it outright. I did mention to my wife that they still had to make it past the judges. We were both in shock when they did'nt win the gold.

Their performance was flawless and clearly superior to that of the Russians who nearly tripped at the front of their routine.

It was obvious to the crowd and to the commentators that the Candians should have won.

At the very least, both judges should be disbarred and sent home in disgrace.Their countrys should "officially" appologize to every country in the world.

Then they should be taken to Singapore and given 12 strokes of the Roton.

[Niteshift]

I listened to Scott Hamilton talk about it today. He is in favor of awarding the Canadians a gold, but not stripping the Russian skaters of theirs, since it wasn't the competitors that cheated, it was the judge.

I tend to think that is a good way to go.

[klar]

I can agree to that night, LOL Like we have any say in the matter, LOL. I think that the judges should be barred from further events in the olympics since it is quite clear now that they are biased and can be bought. How is there going to be any fair competion with these judges there? I also agree a international apology should be made by both judges after they are stripped of their judging powers.

Klar

[Joseph]

I agree with you Niteshift and Klar it wasn't the skaters fault in the matter but the judges should be banned and the Canadians given a Gold Medal also.

[Watchman]

"I agree with you Niteshift and Klar it wasn't the skaters fault in the matter but the judges should be banned and the Canadians given a Gold Medal also."


It appears that the Olympic Council is considering exactly that.


WINTER GAMES 2002
IOC may award 2 golds in skating dispute
Committe 'leaning towards' giving duplicate medals to Canadian pairs
--Bloomberg


02/14 17:50
IOC Might Award Two Skating Golds Upon Appeal, Official Says
By A. Craig Copetas and Michael Buteau


Salt Lake City, Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- An International Olympic Committee official said the IOC is ``leaning'' toward awarding a duplicate gold medal to the Canadian pairs figure skaters upon a successful appeal of a disputed judges decision.

The official, who declined to be identified, said the IOC would ``move extremely fast'' to resolve the dispute that has dominated the 2002 Winter Games after Canadian officials formally appeal the result of Monday night's competition.

Russians Anton Sikharulidze and Yelena Berezhnaya won the gold medal over Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier even though they made mistakes in their free skate program. Five of nine judges voted for the Russians. One of them was French judge Marie Reine Le Gougne, who told the rest of the panel she was pressured into her vote, NBC reported.

While a successful appeal would be the first time a skating judge's decision was overturned in 19 Winter Olympics, dual gold medals were awarded in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, after a synchronized swimming judge said she made a mistake.

The IOC is trying to take control of the dispute from skating's governing body by proving the judge violated a pledge to be impartial, said Canadian IOC member Paul Henderson.

``It's a question of the Olympic oath,'' Henderson, a Canadian who is president of the International Sailing Federation, said in an interview. ``If the officials violated the Olympic oath, it's no longer a federation matter, it's an Olympic matter.''

The International Skating Union has refused to speed up its inquiry into the judging, even after a plea yesterday from IOC President Jacques Rogge to quickly resolve the issue. Skating union President Ottavio Cinquanta said an 11-person committee would review the judging on Monday.

``We are holding off until the 18th,'' Cinquanta said in an interview.

Brenda Gorman, a spokeswoman for Canada's skating governing body, said the appeal is still being put together and wouldn't comment further. Canadian Olympic officials proposed duplicate medals yesterday.

The judges' decision Monday night triggered an immediate storm of criticism from fans and analysts. Cinquanta held a news conference yesterday -- attended by more than 400 reporters -- and denied that the dispute has hurt the sport's credibility.

Since I couldnt get the danged link to work I just posted the whole story, hope nobody minds...

[ 02-15-2002: Message edited by: Watchman ]

[The Littlest Hobo]

The appropriate song for this travesty would be "Shaft". We are upset. An upset Canadian is not to be trifled with. We may not hold the door open for you, or we may not say please or thank you.

Give us gold, let the Russians keep gold. These figure skating exec's live in a fantasy land, off lollypop lane.

A note on the French: See Mars Attacks for a hilarious surrender scene.

[Pigskin]

Saw an interview this morning of the Russian girl skater & she was saying that she didn't think the Canadians should be given a gold medal because they did not win it. What video replay was she watching? Of course they won it.

The Canadian skaters though have been very gracious saying that they were very pleased to have the Silver & they hope to set this controversy aside & continue to compete to win medals & show their skills.

Skategate is what it's being called.

[The Littlest Hobo]

Apparently we are getting the gold...

here...

huzzah

[207]

It's unfortunate that a dishonest judge kept Jamie & David from getting the gold that day. After seeing the still photos in the New York Post today it's clear that the Russians did not deserve the gold medal.

What was also pointed out is that the male half of the Russian pair knocked Jamie down to the ice during a practice shortly before they were to go on. Intentional? Who knows but, there's a lot of ice out there for two people to collide by accident.

It's great to hear that Jamie & David will be given their well deserved gold medals for their superior performance.

It's also unfortunate that a dishonest judge gave a "black eye" to the Olympics. I hope they tossed her out and banned her from ever judging again.

[On Paper]

Fixing a sporting event is a felony here in Florida. Has anyone in SLC looked into criminal charges for these 'judges' ?

[ 02-15-2002: Message edited by: On Paper ]

[Mike Tx]

A note on the French: See Mars Attacks for a hilarious surrender scene.

The scene where they wipe out the senate or congress is my favorite.

[Mr.Orange]

A judged sport being fixed, how is that possible?

I'll stick with boxing, we all know that the judges involved in that sport, would never do such a thing.

[Don]

I saw this too. Thought it was a crock. I agree that the judges should be removed. Stripped IS a good word here. Then they should be tarred and feathered.!

Oh, wait, we don't do that sort of thing anymore. Ice skating really hasn't had too much controversy over they years. But after the Tanya Harding episode, the sport really does not need to have this turn around and happen a few years later.