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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.
Her name is Saraya Bonaly...Jaded gave her name and a description of her performance in #27.
The plot thickens...I wonder if one of the judges was Canadian when Saraya only got the Bronze?
I'm with you. I think this is going to be swept under the rug, and the corruption will go on in the skating world.
The Russian pair should "defect" to America and swap their gold medal with the American pair's silver. I think that would throw a fix/wrench into the mix.
Who?
Judges, skaters, network news etc.
I'm just tired of the whole story.
The awarding of two medals will never take the tarnish from this event.
The Canadians did win...imo.
Maybe "talking" is a better word than "crying".
And I will never forget Bonaly's last program. She was literally flipping the judges off in her long program. When she did the back flip, a gasp went through the audience. It was great.
I agree. The bronze medal winner should get the silver and the fourth place finisher should get the bronze medal. So now you have two gold medal winners, a silver medal winner and a bronze medal winner.
Well, unless you're multiple personalities, you can never be "Canadians" in plural. But you could emigrate to Canada and become one Canadian. Would you still do it if you were one Canadian?
(P.S. Forgive me, but this thing has been absolutely ridiculous from beginning to end, in my opinion. Sport or no sport, the rules have been clear from the beginning and we had no reason to complain: a group of snotty nosed experts decides who gets what. Live with it. But now this is becoming a mob democracy isn't it? Progress? From now on, we'll have judges, whatever you think of them, shaking in their panties trying to satisfy the mobs and the media experts. Uhuh, progress... )
This second gold medal is no victory for them. Sharing a gold medal by forcing the IOC to give it to you is no way to win a gold medal. If the Russians are still holding a gold medal then the Canadians are still not considered better than them. It's neither fair, nor square. At this point, they might as well draw straws. In hindsight, they should have refused to mount the podium to accept the silver medal.
Skating is lot harder than it looks! Those jumps and lifts take strength. The skaters make it look easy. It's a testament to their skill.
Who?
Judges, skaters, network news etc.
First of all, no one was crying - David and Jamie least of all. They have been nothing but a class act from the very beginning.
I don't recall saying they weren't. Where did I say it?
And what was your reason for wanting them to go home? They plan to stay and cheer on their fellow athletes. You want them to go home because they stood up for their rights?
If you'd read what I wrote.... you'd know I meant that I'm tired of all the "talk" about it. It's time to move on.
I'm just tired of the whole story.
Ignore it then - watch the events, not the news spin. There is nothing wrong with people fighting for justice as the Canadians have done. Sorry if it bores you. Yes, it has had extraordinary media coverage, for the media's own selfish purposes I suspect.
Try watching the events without first having to have "updates" about the "gold controversy" first. Fighting for justice is an honorable thing. Never said it wasn't.
The awarding of two medals will never take the tarnish from this event.
Of course it won't. Where did you hear first that judging events should be thrown out of the Olympics?
Who cares....
The Canadians did win...imo.
That's irrelevant ....imo.
So's your post to me.
Maybe "talking" is a better word than "crying".
I repeat - no one was crying.
I repeat....read my reply. I said "talking" was a better word than "crying".
Geez, your cranky, cote.
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