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Posted on 02/15/2002 10:49:42 AM PST by The_Victor
Canadian Figure Skaters Get Gold, Judge Banned
Fri Feb 15, 2:30 PM ET
By Adrian Warner
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier will be awarded a gold medal in the Olympics pairs figure skating after a French judge in Monday's final was suspended for misconduct.
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Rogge, seeking to put an end to a furor that has dominated the first week of the Games, said the Russian pair who won on Monday would keep their gold medal.
International Skating Union (news - web sites) (ISU) president Ottavio Cinquanta said French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne had been suspended from the Winter Olympics (news - web sites). Le Gougne voted for Russian duo Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze in the 5-4 split decision.
"We have suspended with immediate effect the judge of figure skating Mrs. Marie-Reine Le Gougne," Cinquanta told the joint news conference.
"The council got enough evidence that this individual was responsible for misconduct. They (the skaters) were not judged equally."
Cinquanta said le Gougne had "practically admitted" she had been put under pressure during a meeting at which the American referee Ron Pfenning had been present. Earlier this week, Cinquanta said Pfenning had handed him a letter containing "certain allegations".
He added if a judge received pressure at any time the referee had to be informed.
"This did not happen in the case of Mrs. Le Gougne," Cinquanta said.
He said a council meeting on Monday would decide how long the suspension would last.
Pelletier and Sale told Canadian television after the announcement that justice had been done.
"Everyone knows what we deserve and we know what we deserve and we are taking that home with us and that's all that matters," Sale said.
"This is not about us and the Russians, this is about the sport we love dearly and justice was done, and that is a good feeling," said Pelletier.
"I hope it's not going to stop the cleaning of (figure skating's) house here," he added.
Sale said: "We just want the truth to come out and I think for the future of our sport this had to be fixed."
Monday's decision sparked outrage in Canada and most neutral observers thought the title should have been awarded to the Canadian pair. The Canadian Olympic Association has appealed to the ISU to overturn the decision.
"This is truly a proud moment for all Canadians and a significant milestone in the sport of figure skating," said Skate Canada president Marilyn Chidlow.
On with the Olympics!
Man, if tennis was judged this way, I guess the Williams sisters would be looking for work.
About the only Olympics we've been watching is the kurling, while we wait for 'Imus in the Morning' on MSNBC. Why Kurling is on a 6AM is beyond me, I'm assuming it's taped and they aren't out there at 3AM in Utah with their little brooms.
To post #8. Why is that sort of disparity okay in mens?
Saraya Bonaly... the only female who could do a back flip and land it one-footed. At the worlds that year, she stepped down off the podium (she got bronze) in protest, it upset the judges. Then at the last olympics in Nagano, after she fell during triples in her long program, she knew she had no change to medal so she skated for the crowd. Yes, the backflip, that's not allowed because all those little blonde girls can't do it, and when she finished she faced the audience and the Emperor not the judges. When you have nothing you have nothing to lose. Oh, she had, IMO, weird music very new age-ish, the judges didn't like that either but it suited her skating.
She sounds like a character out of an Ayn Rand novel. I immediately have an instant liking for her after your history in brief of her. :) Thanks for sharing!
I cannot agree. The standard is known going in, and the standard for ice skating has always been a combination of athleticism, and artistic grace. In no way are they mutually exclusive. In the past, the most artistic and graceful were often also the best at difficult jumps.
I do not equate ice skating pairs with the NFL, in the slightest. Evidence can be found whereby music is played for ice skating, but not for football.
If I were the Canadians I would give both medals back to the IOC and leave immediately to join the Ice-Capades. And my theme song as I entered the rink would be "We Are the Champions" by Queen. I would make sure wherever I went that song was played as I entered the room. I would commission someone to make me a huge gold medal...three times the size of the IOC medal. I would construct my own podium and design my own flag and declare myself the winner of my own personal olympics. That's what I would do if I were the Canadians. But I am not the Canadians.
We disagree. Judging the gracefulness of the moves sets an unnatural boundary on innovation and artistry. Let the skaters do what it takes to complete the maneuvers; a natural beauty will evolve out of the attempt for perfection. And if some of it gets klutzy, it'll be interesting.
As far as your comment that skating can't be equated with the NFL; that's true. But a good NFL game doesn't need music to be interesting.
All that being said, I do enjoy watching ice skating; I'm just not sure the judging is an asset.
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