Posted on 02/15/2002 11:42:28 AM PST by The_Victor
Snip of redundant material
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"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.
RUSSIANS FURIOUS
"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."
The Russian team reacted furiously to Friday's decision, describing it as a huge blow to the Olympic spirit.
Russian Olympic Committee official Rudolf Nezvegsky told Reuters: "By doing this, they just struck a huge blow, not only to the Olympic spirit of fair competition but also to the whole nature of sport.
"It went against any moral and ethical norms that exist in sport where athletes, not lawyers, compete against each other on the slopes and in the sports arenas and not in back rooms," Nezvegsky said.
"Mr Rogge, who has just become IOC president, probably does not understand what he has done for the sports movement for future Olympic Games (news - web sites)," Nezvegsky added.
I agree. I don't like this at all. I think it would have been better for Sale and Pelletier to be the Gold Medalists of Public Opinion than to subsequently issue duplicate Golds.
It's not like the Russians cheated, as did the East German women's swim team was proved to have done in Montreal.
Yes he does! His remarks during the press conference were very funny....quite an accomplishment coming from someone who just 4 days later was screwed out of a gold medal by a corrupt judge(s).
I especially liked his remark about "...maybe getting the bronze as well and then we'll have all 3"....very funny!
I imagine David will be invited by David Letterman and Jay Leno very soon....he not only has Olympic talent, he has a personality.
Not to take anything away from Jamie Sale, but she was a bit more timid during the press conference....but she also has exhibited maturity and class during this whole ordeal.
I always take pot shots at "Socialist Canadians" on this forum, but it is all in jest. In all honesty, I have never met a Canuck I didn't like.
The French judge ADMITTED that the French Skaing organization put pressure on her to vote for the Russians.
Do you think the French Skating assocaition just did that for the hell of it?
The judge cheated. IMO, the Russians should have had their medal taken away.
Serge, pal, I guarentee you they won't be changing the medal colors again now -- pressure or no pressure.
They did what they did because they had evidence. If they hadn't, they wouldn't have rushed to get this done *instead* of letting it go to the sports arbitration court. No one confident of winning fears an arbitrator.
And my point was, to some extent, all sports are "judged." Even a race has an official to rule on bumps, faulty starts, etc. Human judgement is and always has been a part of sports.
As to boxing, the operative word is "can." And, there is still an official in the ring making judgements moment to moment that influences whether or not a KO may occur.
Ummm... that's what they *did.* That gave four first place ordinals to each pair.
Now, what was the point again?
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